


A Paradigm Shift: An Undertale AU SI

by GravityMassUniverse



Series: Paradigm Greater Universe. [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Mass Effect - All Media Types, RWBY, Ruby Rose - Fandom, Steven Universe (Cartoon), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Death, Depression, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-06-06 03:44:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 166,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15186038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GravityMassUniverse/pseuds/GravityMassUniverse
Summary: A random human gets dumped into a strange version of the game known as Undertale. Welcome to the land of Monsters and Men, where the seas are a 100 meters higher and great beasts rule the land, sea, and sky. Where the code of the world has changed in a way nobody could have predicted.





	1. Chapter One: The First Human, the Outworlder, the Doctor scattered across Space-Time, and the 7th SOUL

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's been a good few months since I last posted any story and I apologize. I ended up hitting a major case of writer's block as well as dealing with the end of high school and getting everything taken care of. This is me getting back into the groove of things. In fact you get to say hello to three new chapters and the fourth should be along in a week so I hope you like this.

**Chapter One: The First Human, the Outworlder, the Doctor scattered across Space-Time, and the 7th SOUL**

 

Chula Vista, California, 2018

 

You know for most people taking an hour long walk outside is usually pretty unexciting. Unfortunately for me _that_ would not be the case for little old me. For those of you born in the wake of what happened next, I hope you sit tight and listen. For this is when everything in our worlds would start to change.

 

***

 

I was walking around Balboa Park and frowned as I passed by a small but happy family, it was nice to get out every once in a while but I didn’t feel in the mood to listen to other people’s conversations.

 

“Maybe I should put on some music or something.” I muttered as I grabbed my smart phone, an iPhone 7 with a battery case, and an additional portable solar panel I had bought for fun from somewhere. I put on some headphones and bobbed my head lightly to some music as I continued my walk. I took a look around and sighed as I realized just how big the park really was.

 

It makes sense I wouldn’t realize that since I’ve only been here like twice despite living here or near here for the past several years. I stopped at a large tree were there was a small event to let people pet reptiles.

 

If someone could see my eyes I’m sure they would have lit up in excitement. I hesitantly walked up to a girl who was two or three years older than me after putting my phone away. The tanned girl had wavy brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, and wore a red and black striped shirt with brown cargo shorts. She had a heart shaped face with almond shaped and almond colored eyes that twinkled with amusement. She was holding a rather large iguana like a giant scaly baby and beckoned me to get closer.

 

She smiled wide as I approached and slowly dropped the reptile into my waiting arms. That was about the time I noticed she was a foot taller than me and blinked in confusion. She looked puzzled at my reaction, but smirked as she realized why I was staring.  I focused my attention away from her and onto holding the big lizard and she quietly instructed me on the correct method. I wobbled a bit as I was put out off balance by the iguana’s wiggling. The girl giggled at my expression and I felt my ears heat up.

 

“Come on, don’t be shy he won’t bite.” The girl reassured me and gestured to her lizards head. I placed my left hand on his head and looked at her in question.

 

“He likes being pat on the head you know.” I nodded in understanding and started to pat the lizard’s head. The iguana rumbled in satisfaction and after a minute of that it started trying to crawl out of my arms. The girl swiftly grabbed the animal and I smiled nervously.

 

“Hah, it’s okay man! Greeny here doesn't really like being held for too long by strangers.” I nodded in response and the girl continued to talk with me. “But he _does_ like you since he held out for at least twice as long.”

 

“Oh um thank you?” I took the complement with a small amount of confusion and the girl grinned once again. I paused as I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out to look at the message.

 

Dad’s message read.

 

 _Ya te vamos a recoger._ I texted back while the girl looked over in curiosity.

 

  1. I nodded as I read an extra message he sent afterwards and put the phone away after saying goodbye.



 

“Uh I sorta have to go now…” I fidgeted a bit under the girl’s gaze and she continued to look fairly amused.

 

“Oh ok it’s been nice meeting you…”

 

That’s new…

 

“Oh my name is Brandon.” The girl tilted her head and held up the hand that wasn’t supporting Greeny. She moved it up and down and raised an eyebrow at me.

 

“Oh right…” I started to shake her hand and the girl giggled as she noticed how stiff I was.

 

“My name’s Samantha.” She introduced herself and I started to smile back in response to her friendliness. Before we could continue anything else my phone vibrated with another text. I decided to end it right and there.

 

“It’s been nice meeting you.” I started to wave goodbye to the young women and she waved back with more energy and enthusiasm than myself.

 

“You too! If you ever wanna hang out I’m usually here at noon on the weekend.” I nearly stumbled as I started to walk away and I nodded nervously in reply. She smiled widely one more time and I gave her a final wave before picking up the pace.

 

I took a look around to orient myself and walked in the direction of the parking lot my dad had left me off on. I would have driven myself if I had anything more than a permit to my name, but what can you do. I started to hum out of boredom as I continued at a leisurely half jog.

 

It was a quiet rendition of His Theme, that had been stuck in my head along with all the other Undertale songs after I had finished the Pacifist route. Honestly I haven’t had it for long and I’ve practically fallen in love with its story and characters. Some of the fandom is a bit weird and occasionally creepy. But the the more _normal_ members give me a sense of community that makes me feel nicer and warmer than usual.

 

As I reached the parking lot I started to slow down and finally paused and took in my surroundings. From above I could a vast dark red cloud that seemed to blot out the sun as well as the blue sky. I narrowed my eyes as I saw very odd red shapes come down like sheets of rain and ice.

 

They looked… like nines…?

 

A sudden almost insane realization came to me but there was no more time to voice them as the objects suddenly hit their marks. I collapsed to the ground and started to head a near constant roar of screaming as well as an odd crumbling sound and then—

 

_CRACK!!_

 

***

 

W-where am I?

 

What is this place?

 

I only remember nines…?

 

Wait…

 

Now I…

 

**BEGINNING DATA ALTERATION**

 

**Reloading Dimension1.01.rom**

 

**Reloading Undertale.rom**

 

**ERROR:[Redacted]**

 

**Transferring Undertale.rom and Dimension1.01.rom to [Redacted].rom**

 

What _is_ this?!

 

**Resetting FRISKchr**

 

**Resetting ChARAchr**

 

**Restore GASTERchr**

 

**Remove Universe Size limit**

 

**Remove True Reset**

 

**ERROR: INCOMPATIBLE PHYSICS MODELS**

 

What the _hell_ is going on?!

 

**Altering Physical Law parameters**

 

**Adding anti-virus protection**

 

This is the oddest dream I’ve ever had in my entire damn life, and that includes the time I dreamed I was a Reaper from mass effect, and got melted by lava in Star Wars.

 

**TRANSFERRING BRANDONchr**

 

**TRANSFERRING GASTERchr**

 

**TRANSFERRING CHARAchr**

 

I have a bad feeling about this…

 

**Add Server Connectivity?**

 

**Confirmed**

 

**Reset BRANDONchr?**

 

**Denied**

 

That sounds _really_ bad, and the worst part is I’m only hearing some of the commands being made. Around the strange void I could suddenly sense a gooey and inky blackness surround me as the deep and reverberating voice continued to yell out it’s strange commands.

 

**Continuing Data transference…**

 

**BRANDONchr successfully transferred**

 

**GASTERchr successfully transferred**

 

**CHARAchr successfully transferred**

 

I felt an agonizing pain throughout my body, and the shadowy goop began to swell up, pushing past my knee height. I began to sink into the goop, and distantly heard other screams beside me. I was choking on that strange fluid and cried out.

 

“Please somebody, anybody HELP ME!”

 

But nobody came.

 

***

I opened my eyes as I heard a loud and irritating whistling noise rushing past my ears. Within a couple of seconds I instantly regretted my poor choice. Because down below was a vast green land a few miles below me.

 

“W-what!” I yelled out in frightened confusion. There was a large mountain but I ignored that as I fell to my doom.

 

“NOOOOOO!” I screamed endlessly as I fell for the next two minutes. I curled up in ball, and waited for the end to come. Of course as I fell I realized that I was over a small lake and I had a small chance to survive if I hit the water. But as I turned my gaze to the ground that hope was dashed as I noticed that my trajectory had already shifted away toward a yellow patch. As another half minute passed, despite my panic I noticed a massive field of golden flowers near a large green mountain that seemed oddly familiar.

 

My eyes narrowed as I heard what sounded like girlish giggling and unintelligible muttering. I looked around in panic but found nothing that would tell me where the strange sounds were coming from.

 

Wait… I’m STILL FALLING! The ground began to rapidly approach me and I loosened up and my limbs began to flail uncontrollably. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the end.

 

“AHHHH!!” I screamed out and waited for the splat of my body being strewn across the flowery plain.

 

_Thunk_

 

***

What was that thunking sound? I had closed my eyes momentarily since I… You _know_ was falling to my death and all. I opened my eyes and found myself floating one foot above the ground.

 

“Ooof.”

 

Which was when my brief defiance of gravity ended and I fell flat on my face. I lifted myself up with shaky arms and legs and stood up high as I looked around in confusion. I looked up, and off in the distance I could see strange white holes at least a few miles out from where I was. There was something that felt off about the air and I almost felt light headed just being here.

 

I felt the brief sensation of pressure behind my eyes and was moments away from bursting into tears.

 

“I… I’m alive.” I sighed in disbelief and relief and simply lay on the ground to rest from my ordeal.

 

‘This is very, very interesting.’ I was startled and fell back to the floor as on older and gentlemanly voice broke

 

‘S-shut u—‘ A much younger and feminine voice replied but it sounded somewhat distorted.

 

‘What do you two think?’ The man continued as if the child hadn’t spoken at all, and my eyebrows furrowed in open confusion. I had enough of this and decided to ask what the hell was going on.

 

‘Who’s there?’ I asked hesitantly and I heard the quiet grumbling of the child and the muttering of the man. I waited awkwardly for them to speak and I hoped I hadn’t just gone mad or gone on a drug trip.

 

‘Greetings I am Chara.’ I raised my eyebrows in shock at the _familiar_ name. I looked around to see if I wasn’t somehow being pranked, but found nothing that would support my theory around here.

 

‘You may call me W.D Gaster.’

 

The fuck is going on!?

 

Wait…

 

That voice from before, they mentioned both of their names as well as all those strange commands.

 

‘How rude.’ I huffed at the scientists indignity and found a clear pool of water in a patch of open grass. I took a look of myself for posterity, in case I didn’t see a mirror in the near future, I’ve also gracefully decided to describe my appearance for whoever is watching me. Clearly this is an Isekei fic designed to mess with me, for some interdimensional writers sick enjoyment, but let’s ignore that for now and get back to description.

 

I had an oval shaped head with lightly defined cheekbones, and I was rubbing my light black beard, with a few stray yellowish hairs. I had straight black hair swept aside to the right and it was of moderate length. I was wearing a slightly stained plain green t shirt with my loose dark blue jeans and dirty black Nike’s sneakers and white socks. I saw a brief distortion in the reflection and took a closer view.

 

I almost screamed when I saw two other people in the pool but covered my mouth just in time. On my right there was a confused red eyed and brown haired girl with peachy skin and rosy skin, and wearing a lime and cream colored striped shirt with brown pants and shoes. Her hair was the style as in the game, and her face was fortunately more expressive. She looked to be around 12 to 13 year old. Her round face was currently twisted into a look of confusion and fear.

 

On my left however… was something wholly different from the young girl who to my own consternation was only about 4 inches shorter than I was. The being seemed to be a skeleton of frankly immense height, maybe six foot eight. He wore a suit of some sort over a grey sweater and had a large scar that just touched the top of his right eye. He seemed oddly giddy, and somehow managed to smile without having actual lips. I turned around and cursed under my breath when the two beings were still there, _if_ a little transparent. Chara wrapped her arms around herself in clear to see anxiety and Gaster did some odd hand motions I didn’t understand.

 

“Well this is perfectly normal, yep. There’s no issue with seeing ghosts or anything.” I heard the girl scoff and I began to walk toward that mountain.

 

‘What are you doing?’ She asked me as she and Gaster were dragged along on my hasty jog. Out in the distance I could see what looked like the ruins of a modern city, and the girl looked almost fearful at that damage. It made me stop as I saw from the distance what looked like deep furrows burrowed into the city’s foundations. It was like something had drilled through the city using plasma. I turned toward the girl and her eyes suddenly widened.

 

‘DUCK!’ I obeyed her with great confusion and threw myself onto the ground and paled as the sound of a bullet whizzing by my head could be heard.  I scrambled into a separate field of tall sunflowers and kept my head down. The girl screamed shrilly when a bullet phased through her, but sighed in relief when she felt no pain. I continued to crawl under the flowers as fast as I could.

 

“What do you see?’ I asked my two allies of convenience and I heard the doctor murmur in thought. The human stuck close to me, and I saw her shake in fear.

I waited for at least _one_ of them to answer me, and I heard Gaster cough.

 

‘There are a sizable number of heavily armed humans 170 meters to your left, they are congregating around several armored wheeled vehicles. They appear to be screaming at a short human with a rifle of some design. Very interesting to see human weaponry in use.’ He replied coldly.

 

‘They’re trying to _kill_ me you know that right?!’ I internally screamed at the doctor and I felt him shrug. I frowned and noticed that my phone was somehow in my pocket, but decided not to question it for now along with everything else. I heard screams and gunfire and decided I should really keep running.

 

I felt the earth shake as what sounded like missiles and artillery struck around the field. I ran toward toward the mountain in desperation, and almost fell to the ground as another quake was triggered.

 

‘Keep running you idiot!’ Chara screamed in desperation. I picked up the pace and the mountain slowly drew closer as I ran for my life. The light faded as I entered a small forest near the base of the Rainier like mountain. The gunfire and explosions started to grow quieter as I fled deeper into the forest and I collapsed onto the ground as my long hike finally caught up with me. I gripped my chest as I breathed in and out harshly.

 

“I…I’m alive.” I wheezed out as I rested against the side of a tree. I rubbed the sweat that had formed on my forehead and then wrapped my arms around my legs. The strange duo that had latched onto me remained quiet and left me to my thoughts.

 

Okay let’s think more on what’s going on here, and what I can do about it. Somehow I had been teleported into another reality and or planet and was potentially trillions of miles from home. Wherever I was seemed to be pretty post apocalyptic, with all the rogue psychos around. I need to get off of this planet right away and if I can’t do that, somewhere that could act as a fortress until everything calms down. Okay then that’s all of I’ve got right now.

 

Oh _wait_ there’s also the fact it seems like my entire universe seems to have been exploded into a million little pieces and scattered across an unknown universe with unknown threats.

 

…

…

 

“I’m going to fucking die aren’t I?” I asked myself miserably. I flinched as I felt Chara’s tiny hands pass through my head. I glared at her and she glared back, her red eyes lighting up with anger.

 

‘Don’t be a baby, and keep heading up to Mt. Ebbot, I know a place you can be safe.’ She chided informatively. I huffed and stood back up on my feet. As I walked the path slowly grew steeper, and I decided to have a conversation with the two. There was really no harm, since this was either real or I had gone insane so whatever.

 

“Right so anything you can tell me about yourselves?” I asked the both of them. Chara looked surprised while Gaster looked almost delighted to speak with another being. Chara grimaced and I wondered why she looked so irritated.

 

‘Don’t you already know everything about us with _that_ game?’ I almost tripped when she acidicly replied. Uh so I guess she somehow got the knowledge from my head then?

 

‘When we uh _showed_ up Gaster received some of your memories of the game and told me about them” She answered quietly. I raised an eyebrow as I continued to trudge through the empty forest. So the doctor got my memory while Chara didn’t?

 

“It doesn’t mean I know everything about you, you know that right?” She muttered under her breath in slight embarrassment, and I heard the doctor quietly chuckle. Chara looked uncomfortable and sighed and I looked at her with some concern.

 

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked and I heard her mutter ‘Like you care.’ I waited patiently and she covered her face with her hand.

 

‘It feels like I’m _supposed_ to be with someone else, and that you’re the only one who can take me to that someone.” Chara sounded confused and seemed to be pretty close to a nervous breakdown.

 

‘I’m sure everything will be fine.’ I reassured her, but based on the look on her face she clearly didn’t believe anything I said.

 

‘Come on I’m _determined_ to see this through.’ Gaster looked curious and I took a step back as his hand began to rummage around my body. He couldn’t actually touch me but it was still really odd.

 

‘Clearly not a Determination SOUL, but perhaps one of Perseverance?’ He said as he continued to analyze me. I decided to back away from the crazy doctor and—

 

OWW!

 

And then proceeded to trip over something behind me. I rubbed my head as the pain pulsed through it and groaned. I felt whatever I tripped on squeak and I crawled away in shock. I swear I saw Chara’s rosy cheeks grow darker, as the mysterious object came into view from a pile of leaves they had fallen into.

 

A girl of similar height and age to Chara emerged from the pile, gripping her head in pain. She seemed to be of Filipino origin mixed with something else, her roundish face twisted in an expression of fear. She wore a striped purple and blue shirt with blue pants and brown shoes. The girl had medium length straight brown hair, and although her eyes were half lidded, I could tell they were an odd if pretty lavender color.

 

“L-leave me alone!” She begged and I looked at her in confusion. I noticed that Chara had drawn closer to the girl, though she didn’t seem to actually notice this. The doctor retreated behind me and looked at the girl with a cold scientific curiosity.

 

Maybe we need something to break the ice and calm the girl down a bit. Okay what to say, what to say. Wait a minute I’ve got it, I know exactly what to say.

 

“Don’t you mean _Leaf_ me alone?” I asked her and she gave me a look of confusion as she processed the question. Her scared face turned into a blank expression once she got what I meant.

 

‘Really, _that’s_ what you go with?!’ Chara groaned at the pun, but froze as the girl giggled at the joke. I picked myself up off the floor and offered the girl my hand. Surprisingly she took it and I lifted her back up on her feet pretty easily. She brushed herself off, and pulled a few stray leaves out of her hair. The girl seemed much less wary of me, but I frowned when she turned toward Chara and shrieked. Chara jumped back, and flailed around as she started to float.

 

“AHHH!” Both girlishly screamed and my eyes widened when I realized that the girl could see Chara, and based on how she glared at something behind me could see Gaster too.

 

‘You can see me?’ She asked hopefully and the girl nodded. That was when I noticed a _very_ thin red string that seemed to connect the two, as well as a purple string that connected Gaster and I.

 

That was also when I noticed a strange bird like creature that was closely following Frisk. It was maybe about half my height and had very long tail feathers extending out from a tail. It’s full coat of feathers were a mottled mix of brown, white and black. What I thought were wings started as a dark brown, to a cream color, darkened to dark brown and ended in cream feather tips. The wings were in fact just heavily feather arms, three fingers with sharp claws curled  together.

 

The animals belly, legs, torso and face were similarly cream. The tips of its mouth were lined in smooth black scales that made its snout look like a beak, but a small hiss revealed a great number of teeth. It’s legs were long and feathered and ended in three clawed toes with a single sickle claw on its second toe. It’s shining golden eyes glared back at me in a slightly aggressive stance.

 

Is-is that a…

 

The animals aggression was swiftly calmed by the girl, who began to stroke it’s back gently and I heard her quietly coo to it. The dromaeosaur relaxed and bounced from one leg to the other as it looked at me with a restrained curiosity. Frisk smiled at her pet’s(?) behavior and turned back to me but as her mouth opened to speak to me, a large and haunting booming sound stopped us. Frisk started to shake and her small bird like companion shrieked in alarm, it’s wing-arms flapping in fear.

 

I turned around and only looked at confusion at the appearance of what looked like a feathery trunk. That’s a pretty weird tree isn’t it? Especially with the three massive toes on its feet…

 

Oh crap…

 

I started to look up and paled as I made eye contact with massive searing orange orbs on a lightly feathered and boxy skull. It was tall, it’s head about 20 feet above the ground, and when it rumbled I felt my bones and organs shift around under the sound waves. I could barely see a dense coating of dark brownish black down that covered its back, head and neck, that then transitioned to a white coat that acted as a border between its primitive feathers and its smooth dark black scales. Most of its underside remained scaled and it was frankly beautiful, but I was more worried about the dozens of _very_ sharp teeth in its open jaws.

 

“We _should_ go.” I said with _supreme_ calm and slowly grabbed the nearly comatose girl and began to walk away. The maniraptoran followed us with similar quietness, and we flinched as a branch was broken by Frisk’s footsteps. The Tyrannosaurus slowly and quietly tilted its head in our direction.

 

‘ _RUN!’_ Gaster screamed and the super predator _boomed_. The trees started to tremble and despite the massive lurch in our stomachs we began to run. We twisted a path through the dense foliage, and I felt shivers run through my spine as infrasound vibrated the air. The Dromaeosaurus like being pulled ahead us but it’s odd chirps and hisses gave us something to follow, and it seemed to slow down whenever we got caught in a vine or bush.

 

The large dinosaur chasing us was clearly abnormal since it seemed to be continuing to follow us based on the very subtle vibrations of its footsteps. Since this isn’t Jurassic Park it should be ignoring something of our size, unless it has eggs nearby. But since it’s summer there shouldn’t be any, there could be some chicks nearby though. My thoughts were interrupted however when I felt my left foot trip on something sending us tumbling onto the ground. Our animal companion fidgeted nervously but stood its ground as the Tyrannosaurus knocked a tree over and walked out into the small clearing we were in.

 

I froze when I took a closer look at the citrine eyes of the massive theropod. It’s eyes blazed with a raw hatred tempered by a startling intelligence that juxtaposed it’s primitive bruteness and bulk.

 

We… were going to die here weren’t we? I started to hyperventilate as the beast drew ever closer, until its massive foot rested in the slightly damp soil one foot in front of me.

 

I…can’t die, I don’t _want_ to die like this. But the… perhaps animal isn’t the best word for something this intelligent. The being stood perfectly still and I waited for it to just _do_ something. It stared at something behind us and backed away and I almost breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a tug on my shirt however and a terrified Frisk pointed shakingly at the beings eyes and I shivered again at the sheer _loathing_ within it, no _her_ eyes. Something _huge_ rushed past us and I pushed Frisk out the way of a thrown boulder.

 

“You missed!” For whatever reason I stupidly taunted the Tyrannosaurus and I gave it a look of confusion as it seemed to look smug.

 

_CRACK!_

 

Our little group flinched as the ground began to shift, and I would have facepalmed as I realized we were on the edge of a _certain_ cave entrance destabilized by the literal ton boulder. We began to slide toward the entrance, and the two of us that were corporeal tried to scramble out of the collapsing area. I heard another crack and the entire section of ground broke off. The two of us were quickly pulled into the cave with no hope of escape. As the two of us fell into the mythical Underground of this humanities legends, I thought to myself.

 

_Well Shit._

 

***

“well shit.”

 

Deep underground a certain pun loving skeleton fell off his bed in a heap as if waking up from a horrible nightmare. He grumbled on the dirty ground of his room and lazily picked himself up. He took a glance at his self sustaining trash tornado and yawned. A bright blue glow from his left lit up the room and was quickly shut with a growl.

 

“heh, guess the little duo really did a number of me didn’t they?”

 

sans took another look around his bed room and sighed. He stiffened up and suddenly vanished from his room.

 

Something had clearly changed. A cold sweat broke out on sans skeletal forehead as he grabbed a computer on his lab. Strange and previously unreadable code became perfectly legible and his eyes would have widened in shock if he could.

 

‘this shouldn’t be possible!’ sans thought in a strange mix between fear and relief as the computer suddenly spit out a tremendous amount of data.

 

“it’s only the last 100 resets that i’ve been able to remember even with a “true” reset. I couldn’t find a way to record the Anomaly before but…” sans trailed off as he read the data given to him by the blocky computational device. His breath hitched in horror as one particular statistic was read out to him.

 

“4,576,378 Resets huh…” The nihilistic monster bitterly chuckled as he grabbed a picture and stared at it with longing. In it stood a a young human girl widely smiling along with several monsters, sans, and his younger brother. He put the picture back down and it settled on the table with a soft “clunk” sound. He read out some more information and his breath hitched even more.

 

“this could be the last reset now, especially since the duo aren’t under the influence of that _thing_ anymore.” sans muttered under his breath and his left eye glowed as his Determination and Hope rose for the first time in a _very_ long time.

“they don’t have much if any memories of what they did before, and with that poor sap along for the ride, things are going to change.” A light popping sound could be heard as Sans took a shortcut back to his room

 

“i can’t afford to not care anymore.”


	2. Chapter Two: A Darwinist Flower and a Clingy Goat-Dragon

 

**Chapter Two: A Darwinist Flower and a Clingy Goat-Dragon**

 

FUCK! I’m falling for at least the third time today, I managed out of mere luck to grab the girl out of the air to cushion her fall. Not sure why, I doubt it would even make a difference. I closed my eyes, and I heard the girl let out a shuddering cry as we gradually sped up. However as we fell further we passed through _something_ that started to slow down our fall from instant death to falling off one's bed.

 

We hit the ground after a couple of seconds, and I felt the softness of a number of golden flowers on the grassy soil of this particular area of the ruins. The girl rolled off of me and I groaned as I felt my bones and muscles ache from the fall. The two of us picked ourselves up from the small patch of flowers that somehow broke our fall, though I have my suspicions that it was the barrier that saved us.

 

“Umm….” I was startled out of my speculations by the tween and I saw her hesitate a bit before she muttered in some language I hadn’t heard before. It might be Tagalog if she _is_ of Filipino origin.

 

“What is it?” I asked her softly, hoping to allay a bit of her shyness.

 

“T-thank you.” The kid looked up, making eye contact with me. I scratched my head in slight embarrassment but didn’t look away. Looking in her eyes I could tell she was really very scared, and looked grateful for me saving her.

 

Not that I really did anything…

 

“Your welcome…” I awkwardly replied and was startled again as she lightly touched my elbow to get my attention.

 

“Y-your name?” I really couldn’t say no to such a pitiful face, and huffed quietly.

 

“Brandon.” Not sure whether or not to give her my last name, maybe I’ll tell her at some other point in time.

 

“Frisk.” She smiled and I blushed lightly in further embarrassment. She stopped talking and stared at something behind me, I turned to find our two invisible buddies looking back at the curious girl. She walked past me to greet them apparently.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, what are your names?” Her voice was really very quite, but very smooth. With a voice like that she could probably be a singer if she wished. Chara looked a little nervous and her natural blush deepened as Frisk got up into her face. Frisk took a step back, and I heard her mutter an apology.

 

‘Chara, and the big skelly here is Gaster.’ Chara introduced themselves and Gaster waved. Despite the skeletons frankly terrifying appearance Frisk didn’t seem to be afraid at all and bowed lightly, she looked annoyed however when she realized she couldn’t touch them. She shook her head, but then suddenly gasped as if remembering something. A familiar chirp signaled the medium dog sized raptor emerging out of the patch. It looked annoyed and Frisk sighed in relief and pet the bird like animal’s head.

 

“I haven’t introduced you guys yet.” Chara looked curiously at the fluffy thing and out of the corner of my eye I could see her try to pet it’s soft coating of down. I saw Gaster give her a look, and she blushed and tilted her head away from him.

 

“So… um this is Red.” The dinosaur perked up it’s head at hearing its name and hissed in greeting. “He’s my… animal companion, I’ve known him since I was a baby and he’s helped me out of some sticky situations.” She quieted down and Chara and Gaster looked at her in confusion.

 

I almost raised an eyebrow as Frisk suddenly barreled past Gaster, past a gate and I followed after the kid. The scientist looked worried and Chara opened her mouth to speak. Red jumped a few feet in the air and started to walk in step with the small human.

 

“Howdy!” I flinched when an incredibly _annoying_ and grating voice interrupted any further conversation. Frisk looked at the talking golden flower with naive awe, and I took a step ahead of her shielding her from the being without a SOUL. The strange flower was simply staring straight through Chara unable to perceive the ghost child.

 

“I’m FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER! Hmm… You two are new to the Underground aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do.”

 

‘What have I done?’ Chara seemed to _wilt_ at the sight of what her adoptive brother had been reduced to in her long absence. Frisk only looked trustingly at the flower and I kept her behind me. I thought I would be more selfish than this, but frankly we’d aren’t safe regardless of what our position is. My eyes widened as I saw two hearts leap out from our respective chests, and I noticed Frisk’s heart was of course red for Determination. Mine was purple for Perseverance if Gaster was telling the truth. I squinted as I noticed what looked like floating buttons, but I shook my head and returned to Flowey’s little tutorial.

 

“—ats LV stand for? Why LOVE of course! You want some LOVE don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” Five white pellets began to orbit around the flower and I noticed Frisk start to frown. Her initial friendliness with the flower began to wane, and her fist curled up.

 

“Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… ‘friendliness pellets.” Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!” The bullets shot out at immense speed and they directly hit my SOUl.

 

Gah _fuck_ that hurts! I was sent onto my knees by the bullets and I heard the kid cry out. Her cry was silenced as she took a couple of hits and she fell to the ground with a wet cough. I heard the Dromaeosaur let out a frightening shriek and Flowey made a brief sound of pain as something ripped. From the corner of my eye I saw Red get thrown back by a vine.

 

Oh god… that face is _so_ much worse in real life than in its original pixelated format.

 

“This LITTLE change in script is SOOO much better despite the PAIN! Now I get two SOULS for the price of ONE!” Flowey screeched in absolute glee, and I flinched as dozens of his white bullets started to surround us. I saw a strange glow over both of Gasters eyes and he tried to attack Flowey. However it seemed he wasn’t solid enough to affect anyone, and the evil flower only felt a light breeze.

 

“Now DIE!”

 

Suddenly Flowey screeched in pain as a fireball smashed into his stupid face, and he hastily burrowed into the ground to safety from the massive flames that began to encroach on him. From the rising flames we could see an _enormous_ figure standing tall. The wall of flames began to drop down like a curtain and we would meet the first true monster of what would be our journey. From the bright flames I saw the blurry image of a massive figure and I heard Frisk whimper behind me. The wall of flames dropped down like a curtain and the first friendly monster we would meet could now be seen.

 

…

…

Holy shit she’s gigantic. As she approached I was better able to appreciate her sheer height and size. She was well over one and a half times my own height and would tower over most humans pretty easily. The goat like caretaker of the ruins looked at us in worry. She looked very much like in the game despite now looking real instead of you know pixelated. A green light began to emit from her hand and the pain I felt quickly faded away into nothing.

 

“What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youths and such a small cute animal” The former queen of the Underground spoke to us with a deep but feminine voice. Frisk looked up in awe at the monsters majesty and smiled as she craned up to look at the beings eyes.

 

“Do not be afraid, I am Toriel caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first humans to come down here in a long time.”

 

I slowly picked myself off the ground and I felt tiny hands speed up the process. I quietly thanked Frisk and rubbed my chest in discomfort. I turned to Frisk and almost took a double take at the large stick she had in her hands.

 

“When did you…” Frisk shrugged at my unfinished question and I turned back to our savior. She waited patiently for us to finish and I coughed in slight embarrassment.

 

“Um sorry… for ignoring you.” She waved me off and I decided it _should_ be fine to introduce ourselves.

 

“Well I’m Brandon and this is Frisk.” The aforementioned girl waved and Toriel kindly smiled back.

 

“It is nice to meet the two of you.” Frisk nodded and Toriel suddenly seemed to remember something important. She beckoned us forward and Frisk followed behind me as I drew closer to Toriel. Toriel made a brief sound of surprise as the surprisingly uninjured Red made his perch on her right shoulder.

 

“I hope I’m not being too presumptuous, but would it be alright to act as your guide through the catacombs?” Toriel seemed a bit less pushy in her initial introduction to us which was nice. I paused in my answer as I felt Frisk snuggle into me which wasn’t something I was particularly used to. I sighed and nodded upwards at the 8 foot tall fluffy monster.

 

“This way.” The three of us walked past a purple gate into a searing purple room. I grimaced at the color but narrowed my eyes at the glowing yellow star in the middle of the room. I could clearly see Toriel walking _through_ it and not noticing a thing. Obviously the star was only visible to me and Frisk based on the look on the kid’s face. She suddenly grabbed it and I was startled as Chara spoke in a different tone than before.

 

‘ **The shadow of the ruins loom above you, filling you with determination** ’

 

‘Don’t I get my own little inspirational line?’ I whined to the first human child and Chara smirked.

 

‘Nope.’ The young girl popped the word, and I grumbled under my breath. Another room came into view, with six switches on the floor forming a puzzle on its right side. The simple puzzle was solved by Toriel before an excited Friek could solve it herself, her expression shifted into one of disappointment. I caught up to Frisk easily with my longer strides and began to walk beside her.

 

“You like puzzles then?” I quietly asked Frisk and she enthusiastically nodded. I noticed Red’s eyes light up as it looked back from his current resting place as if to memorize the puzzle. Toriel made a small harrumph and we gave her our attention.

 

“The ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusion between diversion and door keys.” The goat began to explain what the puzzles were for. “One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourselves to the sight of them.” Frisk nodded in reply and we walked into the next room.

 

It was an also purple room and from the entrance I could see the switches that were clearly labeled by Toriel, there was also a paler path that led to the two labeled switches and ended at the next door.

 

“To make progress here you will need to trigger several switches, no need to worry as I’ve already labeled them.” I was startled out of my staring by Toriel speaking up, and an excited Frisk pushed past me. She activated the two labeled switches and finished the incredibly simple puzzle. Toriel seems just a little off put by Frisk’s speed but gently smiled anyway.

 

“Splendid! You have done well my child. Let us move on to the next room.” I lazily sauntered after them, still rather in shock. I felt a pull on shirt and I turned to a somewhat happy but also wary Frisk.

 

“What is it?” I asked her as we walked and I heard her humm in thought as we reached the new room.

 

“Goat mom is really nice.” She stated and I raised an eyebrow in amusement. Her eyes were briefly obscured by her bangs and she spoke up once more.

“But… something feels a little off about her, like she doesn't want us to leave.” I chuckled nervously and she gave me a look before shaking her head. Toriel continued to explain to us the mechanisms of the Underground.

 

“As humans living in the Underground, monster may attack you. You will need to—“ I raised my hand and Toriel stopped her usual dialogue.

 

“Umm… yes my child?” I cringed slightly at the word she used but ignored it for the time being.

 

“I’m going to make an educated guess and say that if we’re in a fight we need to make a conversation to stall for time.” Toriel looked surprised at me, but as she took a closer look at me she began to look more understanding. I’m guessing she’s realized I’m a bit older than most of the humans that have come previously.

 

“That is correct, very good young man.” She complimented me and I smugly smirked. “The next step would be to practice talking with this dummy, if you wouldn’t mind?” I blanched as a I felt Frisk push me until I was face to face with the oddly shaped dummy.

 

‘ **You encounter the dummy.** ’ I groan as I heard the clear mirth within Chara’s tone and looked at the dummy. I turned my head toward Toriel and she gave me a gesture to continue on.

 

Well then… I guess I have to do this then. I barely prevented myself from flinching as a screen gradually materialized from thin air. It looked almost identical to the ingame FIGHT screen just without the battle box that contained my SOUL. For whatever reason I can’t stop using capital letters with that word which is annoying. There were other small and some major differences as well. Instead of just the kid’s name showing up I could see mine placed just below hers.

 

**FRISK LV 1 HP 20/20**

 

**BRANDON LV 1 26/26**

 

Huh… do I need to press those buttons or can I just talk without them?

 

‘Either or.’ I mentally thanked the former Royal scientist behind me and I decided to talk to the dummy.

 

“Uh hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

Oh _god_ I sound so stupid talking to an admittingly sapient dummy but whatever.

 

‘ **It doesn’t seem much for conversation…** ’ Oh that ghost girl looks _way_ too smug for my liking. I frowned as the fight screen disappeared and we returned to a normal view of a purple passage a mile underground. I heard Toriel praise as mere murmuring as I continued thinking and the three—

 

“Scrrraww!”

 

“Ribbit!” Is there a frog around here somewhere? Must be the Froggit that attacks us at this point in the game. I hear some some more ribbits before the monster began to briskly hop away as Toriel scolded it.

 

Ahem… four of us stopped short of a very complicated puzzle involving very pointy spike traps. I heard Toriel say something about taking her hand and since I didn’t feel like being impaled I decided to grab her large furry hand. She guided us to the other end and I sighed in relief as we passed by.

 

Oh god now I’m thinking about the much more difficult puzzles that come after this tu _Toriel_. I smiled and Chara crosses her arms at the look of amusement on my face.

 

‘Oh _god_ you must have made a pun in your head?’ Chara asked me with a note of horror etched into her voice. I smirked as I came up with another pun to reply with.

 

‘You’ve figured out my _Chara_ cter pretty well princess.’ Chara made little cute stomps in midair and I smirked even wider.

 

‘Please kill me…’

 

Both Gaster and Frisk gave her a look and she blushed and covered her reddening face with her long sleeves.

 

“You have done well children. However I have something to ask of you, I would like you to walk to the end of this room without me. Forgive me for this.” Even Frisk started to look a little annoyed at Toriel’s incessant babying. Red suddenly glided down Toriel’s back and rejoined the small human. I turned back to find Toriel gone and almost burst out laughing when I noticed the monsters feet poking out from the pillar near the end of the small hall.

 

“She isn’t really used to humans that can do things on their own is she?” An amused Frisk whispered into my ears. I nodded and the both of us took easy and calm steps to the other side of the room. We stopped as Toriel walked out from a pillar near the exit and she opened her mouth to speak before suddenly stopping.

 

“What is with those looks children?” She looked a little puzzled at the blank looks we were giving her.

 

“You left to test our “independence” right?” Frisk asked with a shit eating smile and I could feel the older women’s embarrassment from here.

 

‘Overprotective as always, Toriel.’ A wistful Gaster spoke up and I turned to find him with a look of sadness as he stared directly at the former queen of monsters.

 

“Oh I’m yes my child, I am sorry for doubting you. I’ve become used to most humans being _younger_ than the two of you.”

 

“That’s fair.” Frisk said understandingly and Toriel seemed happy that we weren’t mad or irritated with her.

 

“Yes though I believe you will have no issues with this, I must attend to some business and the two of you will be alone for a while. Please remain here as it is dangerous even if there _are_ two of you.”  A metaphorical light bulb seemed to light up over the monster lady’s head and she pulled out a large rectangular object from _somewhere_. I suspected a magical hammerspace of some kind inherent to this place or to monsters.

 

“I have an idea, I have a cell phone. If you have a need for anything, just call.” Toriel passed the phone into Frisk’s capable hands and started to move away. Frisk waved goodbye as Toriel walked through the exit of the room and her loud footsteps gradually faded away.

 

I turned toward Frisk, and took a step back at her look of mischief on her face. She started to play with the brick phone’s buttons as she learned how to use the device. I looked warily at the screen as Frisk dialed Toriel only a few minutes after she had left. Several options suddenly appeared on the video game like HUD we now had access to.

 

***Flirt**

 

‘What the _hell_ are you doing Frisk!” An indignant Chara shrieked and tries to hit the girl in question. She growled as her hand passed through the other girl and Frisk only smirked. A clunking sound heralded Toriel picking up the phone and Frisk beamed.

 

“What is it my child? Has something happened?” The concern in Toriel’s voice could clearly be heard even from here.

 

“No I just wanted to ask a question.” I heard Toriel quietly say “of course my child.” which made the little girl smile even wider, and she started to flirtatiously twirl her hair with her finger

 

“Hey mom,  are you sitting on a pile of sugar?”

 

Holy _shit_ Chara is turning really red at that, and, and…

 

“Pfft please Frisk don’t do it!” I couldn’t help it anymore and I started to laugh.

 

“I don’t believe I am my child.” Toriel replied to Frisk’s question with confusion in her tone.

 

“Because you have a pretty sweet ass.” A brief silence followed Frisk’s statement and she looked mildly anxious as she waited for the women’s reply.

 

“Huh?” Her initial confusion turned into amusement and she replied again.

 

“Oh. Heh… heh…” Her chuckles shifted into all our laughter and Friek suddenly looked victorious.

 

“Hahaha! What a strange child you are! You can certainly find better than an old woman like me.” Frisk gave me a coquettish smirk and I backed away and waved my hands in protest.

 

‘Not so funny now is it.’ Chara growled in my ear, but squeaked when Frisk winked at her. I looked away and frowned with a light blush. I heard the signature click of a call ending and I scrambled as Frisk suddenly walked toward the exit. I grabbed her hand to not let her get away and she smiled.

 

“You… shouldn’t walk off like that. It isn’t safe around here.” I admonished her and she nodded in reply. We walked through the exit and stopped again as we noticed a Froggit lying in wait. Frisk stiffened up for a moment but relaxed when the frog didn’t leap in to attack us. She let go of my hand but remained close, the phone started to ring again and she picked up the call.

 

“Hello? This is Toriel, you have not left the room have you?” Frisk whispered “no” into the phone, but Toriel continued to speak. “There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain, and it could be dangerous to solve them. Be good alright?” The phone clicked off once more and we were left alone once more.

 

Ignoring the Froggit in the room of course…

 

I think maybe I should talk to the frog this time, I didn’t trust Frisk to _not_ flirt with every living thing that breathes or otherwise. I walked up to the _child_ sized frog and nervously waved hello.

 

“Ribbit, Ribbit(Excuse me, humans)” I was startled as the ribbits somehow became understandable to me and I decided to reply.

 

“Uh yeah?” The most articulate response to a talking frog of course. It kept ribbiting and I continued to somehow understand it.

 

“(I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them…)” the frog paused to take a breath and Frisk drew in closer.

 

“(They might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please…) The Froggit started to sound afraid and sorrowful and I wondered what happened in its past to make them this way(Not like _I_ know what gender it is).

 

“(Use some MERCY, human.)” Frisk put on a serious face and promised that we wouldn’t hurt anyone. She suddenly left and then came back from the candy room, with four pieces of candy with a guilty expression. I gave her a look but said nothing. As Frisk started to play with the crinkling leaves, Chara was having fun being the narrator.

 

‘ **Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with Determination.** ’ The sound of a wave rang through my head and I shook my head in amusement. We walked to the new room _together_ this time but talked to the Froggit once more.

 

“Umm before we go, what’s your name?” Froggit said nothing and my lips took a gradual downturn as the silence rolled along.

 

“Ribbit(Naveen).” I nodded in thanks and we walked downward passing a single pile of leaves.

 

“Ribbit.”

 

Out nowhere another smaller Froggit emerged and as it leaped toward my face I started to rethink my life choices.

 

“Not the face, not the face!”

 

***

‘ **Froggit hopped close!** ’ This time Gaster was the one narrating and I grumbled as I rubbed at a bruise that was starting to form on my forehead. The attacking Froggit seemed to be a little nervous despite attacking me first.

 

“Close wouldn’t be the word for what just happened.” I complained and Gaster made a shrugging motion. I decided to go with complimenting the frog since I didn’t want to fight the somehow cute amphibian.

 

“You have uh… very smooth skin?” I phrased my compliment like a question and Froggit tilted his(her?) head.

 

‘ **Froggit didn’t understand what you said, but was flattered anyway.** ’ The monster started to blush despite not knowing what I said, and I was dropped to the floor as the frog jumped onto me one more time.

 

**21/26 HP**

 

‘ **I’m sure you know what to do here.** ’ Just as the scientist said this the MERCY button was tinted yellow and I hastily pressed the button, and then pressed the spare button. The frog gave a croak of thanks(How do I know that?) and hopped away.

 

“Are you okay?” Frisk and Chara asked with worry in their voices. They turned to each other in surprise and Chara was the first to glance away.

 

Chara’s a total tsundere isn’t she?

 

“I’m fine just a little hurt is all.” Not sure why I replied with a slight country drawl but whatever. I think we should really keep moving on. Frisk took my hand again, and we walked along to the next room ahead of us.

 

It was _surprisingly_ nice to have someone to rely on you. But also really stressful since I need to keep both myself and another living being safe and healthy. We stopped right at the edge of an area with six, uh scratch mark like spots on the floor. I felt Frisk’s hand tighten in worry and I calmed my breath, and I took it one step at a time as we approached the area once.

 

“Could one of you check whether there’s something underneath here?” I asked our invisible pals and with a Determined look Chara phased under the floor. Her arm poked out from the ground and she gave a thumbs up. Frisk made a shaky breath and her hold on me tightened as I stepped on the front middle scratch mark.

 

_Whoosh!_

 

Bile started to come up from my throat at the constant spinning as we gently landed feet first into a pile of colorful leaves. Frisk looked happy to be alive and started to drag _me_ instead of the other way around. We ended up at the other end of the puzzle _somehow_ and jogged to the next room. A ringing interrupted our journey once more and Frisk picked up the phone and tried to give it to me. I reluctantly took it and placed the phone to my ear.

 

“H-hello.”

 

“Ah Brandon, this is Toriel.” I nodded unseen to her. “This is question for no reason in particular for the both of you.”

 

“Okay keep going.” Frisk looked curious on what the surprise was, and Chara’s eyes suddenly sparkles with glee.

 

“Which do you two prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch?”

 

Shit. Frisk looked at me with a hint of worry and I turned away in embarrassment.

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked with her eyes fully open, and…

 

Oh my god she had pretty good puppy dog eye game. I shook my head to rid myself of my odd thoughts.

 

“Uh well.” I whispered hesitantly. “I don’t really eat pie.” I heard two indignant growls and I paled as both girls glared at me with hate.

 

“Monster/ **Monster!** ” Both shouted with all the rage of two tiny pre teens.

 

‘Next you’ll tell me you don’t like ice cream or cake!’ Chara scoffed after saying this.

 

An awkward silence followed as I refused to look either of them in the eye. Chara’s left eye started to twitch and she looked practically _volcanic_.

 

‘What is _wrong_ with you! How can you not like those things.’ I shrugged as Chara turned explosive at my reply, and I quickly tuned out her ranting and asked Frisk for an answer.

 

“Either one of them is fine with us.” I answered a patient Toriel and heard an “oh!” on the other end of the line.

 

“That is rather helpful…” Toriel muttered and politely hung up after saying goodbye to us. We started our journey once more and kept moving forward into the future.

 

Man we’ve been walking for pretty long while now… I hope something exciting comes along before I explode. And as I walked into the rock puzzle room I realized I had tempted Murthy’s law like an idiot. I walked past the riddle and right before I could push the rock, _another_ Froggit started it’s honestly pretty weak attacks. I gasped as Frisk jumped into the fight without prompt.

 

“Frisk!” She gave me silent thumbs up and immediately went for complimenting the frog like I had.

 

“You have very pretty and very big eyes!” The frog looked _positively_ tickled at the compliment and they started to preen themselves. Frisk gasped and weaves around a bunch of magical fly projectiles, however the attack quickly slowed to a trickle as Froggit’s fighting spirit waned.

 

Frisk grinned and spared the monster without a hint of hesitation. Before it leaped away the monster gave Frisk two gold coins in apology and Frisk gladly accepted it. I finished the puzzle and we advanced to the next room without any fanfare. We The next room was rather more dangerous and fortunately something I had already done before since I had played Undertale several times already. Of course I decided to check my phone see if maybe there was guide so I wouldn’t make a mistake and get ourselves killed. Of course it would only be useful for the puzzles, and the fights might be different for a _number_ of different reasons.

 

I followed the line between the two most rightward tiles, and with the help of Chara once again we succeeded in completing the puzzle without falling down even once. It was pretty nerve wracking but we made it just in time. Once we reached the other side however…

 

“Oh thank god.” I held my rapidly beating chest and took a deep breath. It’s one thing to fall down in a game and another thing in real life.  

 

“So uh which rock…”

 

“The upper one Frisk.” I answered without thinking. Frisk started to push the rock, when she successfully placed it on the tile, had to move back as _three_ Moldsmals drizzled in from the ground.

 

‘ **Flirt for your life Frisk!** ’ Chara yelled out and Frisk gave her a thumbs up in response. Frisk hesitantly wiggled her hips and the living gelatinous beings wiggled back.

 

‘ **You wiggled your hips. The Moldsmals wiggled back. What a meaningful conversation.** ’ The first fallen child sounded really bemused and giggled. Gaster made a toothless smile, that only a parent could make. I pushed the next rock and finished my part of the puzzle. Frisk made for the last one and I stopped her.

 

“Uh this rock is actually a monster that you can ask to move onto that tile, if you use specific instructions.” Frisk’s eyes fully opened in shock and she took a tiny step back.

 

“Really?” I nodded and she lightly pet the sapient rock.

 

“Um mister Rock could I ask you to move onto the tile and stay there so we can move past the spikes?”

 

Frisk is a pretty smart kid isn’t she? This should make getting out of here and saving everyone a _little_ easier at least.

 

‘You… still want to save everyone despite this being a game?’ Chara asked me with disbelief. I scowled at her and she looked hopeful(?) at my answer.

 

‘Why wouldn’t I, even in the game I never played a… _Genocide_ run. Why would that change when they’re now actual people with feelings, with their own Hopes and Dreams?’

…

…

 

‘Chara?’ I called out to her, but she didn’t answer. The room remained silent as we passed by the lowered spikes and I heard Frisk mutter out her thanks to the rock monster. Just as we reached another yellow star and a table with some cheese stuck to it I heard Chara again.

 

‘Thank you.’

 

Your welcome Chara.

 

***

 

“zzzzz…” Was all we heard as the depressed ghost tried and failed to feign sleep as it lay down on a pile of bright red leaves. Frisk sat down in a criss cross manner and tried to gently pet the ghost’s sadness away. She frowned when she couldn’t touch them, just like with Gaster and Chara.

 

‘Here comes Napstablook.’ Was our first warning as the ghost forced itself into an upright position. Frisk yelped and started maneuvering around the acidic tears that Napstablook was letting out.

 

Oh crap I need to move too. The deluge startled Red back into action and he leaped and weaved through the air with grace. He hissed as as a single drop hit its chest and used its wings to change direction in midair.

 

N-need to move!

 

Left, right!

 

Duck, roll to the left again!

 

As the three of us dodged, Frisk gave the ghost a gentle and supporting smile.

 

“Heh.” I could hear his sad droopy voice pick up and he looked happier than before. I pressed the cheer button for his fight to give Frisk a break. I decided to steal a little joke from finding Nemo. Not sure how I remembered _that_ during a fight for my life but good enough.

 

“I hope you get this joke so here goes nothing. So there’s a sea cucumber who walks up to a mollusk. He looks over to the mollusk and says “With fronds like these, who needs anemones?”

 

Please work…

 

“Heh.” The ghost gave a small chuckle.

 

“Really not feeling up to it right now. Sorry.” Ahh, he sounds so sad! I actually _want_ to give him a hug just to cheer him up. And I’ve never really been the kind of of person to be overly affectionate.

 

“Hey it’s okay.” Frisk did her best to reassure the ghost and the ghost looked a little bashful.

 

‘Napstablook wants to show you something.’

 

Heh.

 

Thanks Gaster. More acidic tears started to form and take a shape on Napstablook's head(Top of his body?), Frisk flinched a bit and I scowled as she rubbed some minor burn marks on her wrist. The tears formed an _odd_ hat and he looked hopeful at our response.

 

“I call it dapper blook. Do you like it…” I clicked cheer without a hint of hesitation.

 

“It’s a pretty cool hat.” Through his odd, glassy eyes I could see the clear joy that radiates from them.

 

“Oh gee…” Frisk suddenly took a piece of candy and ate it, and her burn marks healed away to nothing within seconds of her first candy. Just as it passed to her throat her eyes bugged out. I could easily guess why…

 

“I usually come to the Ruins because there’s nobody around…” Napstablook began his explanation and we listened with understanding.

 

“But today I met _four_ nice people.” My grin dropped and I looked at the bed sheet like guy with shock.

 

“Oh, I’m rambling again. I’ll get get out of your way.” He continued onward.

 

“H-hey wait!” But he left before I could ask him anything else.

 

Dammit!

 

“He could see them?” Frisk asked me and I nodded numbly. I decided to walk off to the to the rightmost room and grimaced as I looked at the small webbing and the sign that advertised Muffet’s _unique_ delicacies. Frisk emptied her pockets and pouted when she only found 5 gold coins.

 

“We should come back when we have more money.” Frisk’s mood improved and we moved on.

 

I remembered more or less what we needed to do next and everything should be just fine right?

 

***

Oh god damn my big mouth!

 

Turns out having to fight over half a dozen monsters over a row isn’t exactly easy for an average human being. I was currently limping toward Toriel’s home after gradually passing through a horde of frightened monsters, and devious puzzles with a worried Frisk and Red in tow. Frisk had changed her look a bit after finding an old ribbon and placed it into her hair. Her happiness was worn down by my general slowness due to my injuries. Red picked up the pace and grabbed my hand with his arm to get my attention. The little raptor then nuzzled me with surprising affection and I smiled.

 

His feathers are really soft…

 

The fights are technically a little easier than the game since there are two of us but it also means the monsters fight _just_ that much harder. It doesn’t help that they attack me more since I’m bigger and more of a threat to them. The best part fortunately was that we had double the money and inventory space.

 

A solid 76 gold between the two of us. Honestly by the time we’re done here we’re probably going to be rich if this is _actual_ gold. One gold coin is worth like 1300 bucks, and in the game we could max out at 9999 _and_ there are two of us.

 

If only the fights weren’t so painful for me.

 

- _Flashback_ -

_“Ow, ow, OWW!”_

 

_“While do all the Moldsmals keep attacking me!”_

 

_“At least the Vegetoids heal you right?”_

 

_“That’s not helping Frisk!”_

 

_‘As a royal scientist…’_

 

_“Shut it Gaster!”_

 

- _Flashback_ -

 

Yeah not the best time for us really. My HP had dropped from 26 to about 7, and we were slowly walking up to Toriel’s home. I could see a dead and darkened tree surrounded by another leaf pile and I could hear Toriel’s voice in the distance.

 

“Oh dear that took longer than I thought it would.” She started to grab her phone before she suddenly looked alarmed and rushed over to us. She started to check out my bruises and injuries and looked _furious_.

 

“Who did this to you? You _will_ get an apology.” Toriel shook her head and I heard something about being irresponsible and a surprise. Her eyes widened and we followed her to her home. I stayed back a bit and decided to test something.

 

The yellow star was kind of warm…

 

‘Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you Determination.’ I noticed that Gaster was actually speaking to Frisk rather than me. So while I was able to save with no issue, it’s likely _Frisk’s_ Determination that allowed the save points to exist rather than my own anyway. It makes me wonder if it’s possible for humans to learn magic. I mean the barrier _was_ created by humans mages wasn’t it?

 

‘I have significant knowledge on the types of magic that human beings are capable of.’ I perked up at the statement as well as being revitalized by the save point fully healing me up with no issue.

 

‘But that would be for another time.’ I pouted in disappointment and hunched over as I entered Toriel’s home.

 

“Surprise!”

 

Oh right should be listening to Toriel, let’s get back to that shall we.

 

“It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want the two of you to have a nice time living here.” Frisk’s excitement at the pie waned at Toriel’s last sentence, and she rubbed her arms in an odd discomfort. Her discomfort vanished and turn into disgust at the idea of a snail pie popped into her head.

 

“Oh and I have one more surprise for the two of you.” Let me take a guess on what it is. We walked down a different hallway up to the door on the left side of it.

 

“A room for the both of you! It is temporary as I need some more time to set out a room for Brandon but it _is_ nice.” Her left paw hovered over Frisk’s head for a moment but Toriel’s expression softened at the child’s clear discomfort. She patted her head instead and her nose suddenly crinkled as if to smell something.

 

“Is something burning…?” She asked with a confused worry. She turned as stiff as a board and started to walk briskly.

 

“Um, make yourselves at home!” She started to sprint but just before she left I heard her call out to me.

 

“Oh and remember to remove your backpack before you sleep!”

 

I tilted my head and Frisk suddenly snickered.

 

“What’s so funny?” I growled out while glaring at the little girl who was covering her mouth with her small hands, failing to hide her laughter. She poked at my back, and I spluttered when I noticed I had been wearing a big blue backpack the _entire_ time. I muttered angrily and burst through the door and into a our new(temporary) room. I looked around to appraise the room and nodded at a single full bed and one inflatable bed that was clearly not for the long term for me. I heard the click of the room locking behind me and I turned around with alarm.

 

Frisk looked at me with her itty bitty arms crossed and looking at me with slight suspicion. I removed my backpack sheepishly and waited for what she was going to say.

 

“Tell me your secrets.” She hissed and I took a step back at the venom in her voice. She stomped up to me and poked me hard in the chest.

 

Smart kid…

 

“Okay.” Her momentum was shattered as I gave in with no hesitation. I gestured to the bed and the both of us sat down.

 

I sighed and and hunched down further. “Okay, what do you want to know?” Frisk pursed her lips and lightly pulled her head as she thought up questions. As if a lightbulb had flashed above her head, she turned a little jittery and grinned up at me.

 

“How do you know about where stuff is and what’s going to happen in the future?” Frisk asked and I rubbed my head in response.

 

“You knew where to go on almost every step in the way, and even knew what to say to the monsters before I did. You did stumble a bit however…” Frisk trailed off as she kept speculating about me.

 

“It’s kind of complicated…” Frisk frowned and started to look a little mad. I took a deep breath and decided to get started.

 

“Okay… here it is. Where I’m from this place, the people, and the journey itself are all just a video game.” The young girl remained speechless and looked at me with disbelief.

 

“The game was called Undertale and it was about a young child that would fall into the Underground and save all Monsters or…” I trailed off and looked away from her when I almost revealed the last part.

 

“Or do what?” Frisk asked me with a whisper. I turned to toward her and she looked…

 

Really scared, she was shaking pretty fiercely too.

 

“H-hey it’s going to be okay.” I did my best to reassure her but she only shook her head and I heard the beginnings of a sob.

 

“Please don’t cry.” I pleaded to her desperately not knowing what to do with this.

 

“I-I’m sorry.” She choked out through her tears. She used her sleeves to rub her tears away.

 

“I just… it’s not what you said that’s making me cry. I feel like I did something _really_ bad, but I don’t know what it was.” Chara stiffened up, and her expression contorted into one of guilt and agony. She started to shake and floated down to the ground in a fetal position. Gaster floated up to her in alarm and rubbed her back to calm her, but it failed.

 

“Chara!” Frisk cried out in her own alarm and seemed close to fully bursting into tears.

 

“Make it stop…” Chara weakly muttered as some kind of migraine seemed to be hurting her.

 

‘They’re not dead, they’re not dead, we didn’t kill them…’

 

O-oh that’s the problem isn’t it…

 

‘It will be alright child, those _vile_ events will _never_ occur again.’ Surprisingly it was Gaster that would take charge and comfort Chara. He grabbed the kid and held her in his bony lap. Her cries slowly dropped off and I heard her light snores as she passed out.

 

I didn’t know ghost could sleep…

 

I snapped out of my stupor and pulled Frisk into a hug, hoping it would help her. Her sobs faded away and she visibly relaxed. Her thin arms wrapped around my back and I sighed as she buried her face into my chest. I hesitantly patted her head and waited for Frisk to say something. When she didn’t I turned to Gaster for help. The skeleton looked sad as he looked down at the sleeping ghost girl.

 

‘How much do they remember?’ Gaster grimaced at my question and he gently placed Chara down on the inflatable bed.  Frisk finally lifted her head, looking at Gaster with a single exposed eye.

 

‘Their memory was reset, but there will be bits and pieces they may eventually remember. Fortunately it will only be glimpses and the occasional nightmare, instead of something… more _extreme_.’ He explained carefully taking heed of the fitfully sleeping princess.

 

“So they have no idea what they…” I trailed off at Gasters grave look.

 

‘They are _not_ at fault!’ He roared with fury and I flinched back in fear of his temper. His expression softened and he palmed his face with his hand as his breath hitched.

 

‘I apologize for my outburst.’ I shook my head in response and he blinked.

 

‘No… it’s fine I understand that what I said could be… insensitive.’ I looked down to see that Frisk was starting to lift off of my chest. Her cheeks were dusted with a hint of red and she sat down on the bed in silence. I rubbed my arms not knowing exactly what to say.

 

That was about when it came to me…

 

“Umm I don’t really know too much about you…” I scratched my head as Frisk’s bowed head suddenly flicked up. Her eyebrows quirked in bewilderment and I took a deep breath as I decided to continue.

 

“I think it would just be nice to get to know you a bit better if I’m going to help you.” Frisk’s eyes lit up at my explanation and she gave me an odd look that confused me.

 

“You… want to help me?” She asked me with a slight tinge of awe that felt uncomfortable.

 

“Well yeah you seem like a good kid.” I replied to her with a good amount of confusion.

 

W-why is she looking at me like that?

 

Guh!

 

Frisk smacked into me again and gave me an absurdly tight hug for someone her size and weight. My expression turned blank as I thought about why Frisk just seemed so _happy_ to hear that from me.

 

When I thought about the life she may have lived before falling into the Underground. It didn’t paint a very pretty picture in my own mind. Regardless I want to help her out despite my… misgivings.

 

“So do you want to talk?” I asked with a slight wince as her eyes dimmed at the question. She nodded and removed herself from my person and started to dust herself off. She took a deep breath and released it as she seemed to get ready.

 

“My name is Frisk, which you um already know.” I nodded to her to keep going and she grew more confident. “I was born in Onyx town, which is a _very_ small coastal settlement on the Puget Sound Central Sea.”

 

_What!?_

 

If there’s one thing I know it’s that there _is_ no inland sea in California, pretty sure I would know about something like that. I paused and started to remember the damaged buildings and combed my memories. I know the city looked like it was in ruins but I think there some lights that would indicate people living there in some numbers.

 

“But that wouldn’t be familiar for you right?” Frisk asked me with some hesitation and I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. She coughed behind her right fist and cleared her throat.

 

“My dad was Filipino while my mom was half Hawaiian and half Irish, whatever _that_ means. I’ve been living with my uncle and aunt until I…” Frisk shuddered and my brow dropped as her hands curled up in fist and she rubbed some odd scars on her arms that I hadn’t previously noticed. An odd feeling passed through me as I stared at those scars. There were several circular ones that looked like burn marks, as well as long scratches up to several inches long. She also had a scar on her right arm that was rather large, her forehead I noticed she been bandaged and there was scar on her forehead too. I breathed in and decided to change the next subject a bit.

 

“Just… tell me something that you’re comfortable with.” Frisk stopped her shudders and shook her head.

 

“Right, okay.” Frisk placed her hands in her lap and pursed her lips for a moment. “I’m 12 years old, I’m multilingual, I like puns, and I was born on April 7th 2306.”

 

I swear I heard the sound of breaking glass as Frisk’s statement just sunk in.

 

“Come again.” Frisk gave me a look filled with concern and grabbed my left arm as it started to shake.

 

 _That_ is a very wide difference in dates between our two worlds huh? Based on what she’s told me this version of Undertale seems to be after some kind of climate related disaster devastated the human population. I have no idea where the giant supposedly extinct animals come in though.

 

“Is it different in your world then?” I nodded numbly and I pulled out my phone which still had the current date on it. I passed it to her and her eyebrows furrowed as she read it out loud.

 

“July 22nd 2018!” She sounded shocked and passed my phone back to me.

 

“Apparently your world is in the future.” I deadpanned in mild disbelief.

 

I’m seriously wondering what I did to deserve this now. First I’m at least sixty percent sure I was killed by whatever the hell fell from the sky, then I was thrown across realities and fell 30,000 feet without a parachute. _Oh_ and it only gets worse from there, first I almost get my head blown off, then I run into a random forest and trip over Frisk, and I finally get chased into the Underground by a fucking T.rex!

 

‘Perhaps it would be best to continue this conversation in the morning?’ Gaster cut in, keeping me from entering a stress induced panic attack. My body slumped as my exhaustion finally caught up with me. Frisk’s eyes drooped as well and she sluggishly got under the covers of the bed. I rubbed my forehead as I felt a headache coming on and sighed.

 

‘That might be a good idea.’ I replied to him and covered myself with the green wooly blanket Toriel had provided me. I looked up to the unfamiliar ceiling and just before I closed my eyes, I heard a whisper.

 

“Is something wrong Frisk?” I asked her with a murmur. I turned toward her and noticed that her lips had pursed.

 

“I…”

 

“Thank you for helping me.”

 

_Oh._

 

“Your welcome?” I answered her with a great deal of trepidation. I almost looked away as she gave me a radiant smile of thanks. Shit she could guilt trip literally anyone with those eyes. Her smile dropped to a more subtle smirk, and I heard rustling as she got comfortable.

 

“Goodnight Brandon.”

 

Dammit.

 

“Goodnight Frisk.”

 

***

Unknown to either young human a certain overprotective boss monster had heard _most_ of their conversation after preparing her surprise for the two humans. Her fluffy arms shook and nearly dropped the hybrid pies in her large hands. She remained utterly quiet as her ears picked up the near silent breaths of the visitors.

 

“The monster behind the door was telling the truth.” Toriel whispered in astonishment and her paws curled up into fists. She opened the door silently and left the two pies on two clean paper sheets. She rushed down to the poorly hidden exit to the Ruins and exhaled heavily as she looked at the looming door. The room was briefly lit by her flames before she immediately extinguished them.

 

“told ya lady.” From the other side a deep voice startled the ruffled goat women.

 

“i hope i didn't chill you down to the bone lady.” The serious atmosphere was partially dissipated by the strange monster on the other end and she smiled in spite of the circumstances.

 

“C-can I truly let them pass into the rest of the Underground.” Toriel wondered.

 

“Can they really save us all from our imprisonment once and for all?” She asked the skeleton desperately. He seemed to chuckle and the former queen scowled, and his laughter quickly disappeared.

 

“no bones about it. the kid can and _will_ save us all.” Toriel sagged in reply and her shaky voice pleaded.

 

“You’ll keep your promise?” Toriel repeated an old promise and waited for the skeletons response.

 

“of course, i always keep my promises.”


	3. Chapter Three: The SOUL Users of Magic versus the Dog Guard, and the Great Papyrus

**Chapter Three: The SOUL users of Magic versus the Dog Guard, and the Great Papyrus**

 

“Psst.”

 

Whoever you are go away and leave me alone.

 

‘Wake up jackass!’

 

I cracked an eye open to see two little girls that were no longer crying their hearts out. I froze when I realized that Frisk was inches away from my own face and I backed away swiftly and then heard Chara cackle in the background. Frisk gave me a slightly crooked grin and I raised an eyebrow with mirth. She glanced away and I rose up from my air mattress. I looked around to grab my shoes and put them on.

 

“Could you tell me some stuff about you?” I tilted my head toward Frisk and nodded.

 

“Well let’s see here I’m a californian like you born in Chula Vista.” She didn't seem to recognize the name of the state and only tilted her head. “I have a mom and dad who… are seperated and two younger brothers.” Her eyes twinkled and I practically sweat dropped as she started to hover over me.

 

“Uh moving on.”

 

Let’s ignore Frisk’s pout and keep going.

 

“I like puns as well, I also like music and technology, and I was born on October 17th of the year 2000.” I stopped my introduction when I saw the mischief dancing in Frisk’s purple eyes.

 

“Guess that means you’re as old as dirt then huh.”

 

…

…

 

Frisk gave me a nudge and I glared at her. She giggled, covering her mouth behind her right hand.

 

“Guess I have to be careful, I don’t want to break your bones old timer.” She mocked me and I frowned. She looked alarmed at my look and looked ready to apologize before I started to smirk.

 

“Get off my dang lawn you young whipper snapper.” I demanded to her in my poor imitation of an old person and gently pushed her off my bed. She smiled and jumped up onto her feet with ease. A chirp signalled a rising Red who leaped into my arms. I let out an “oomph!” and Chara only gave me an amused smirk. The dog sized critter settled into a comfortable position in my arms.

 

A thought suddenly came to and I decided to ask the only person who could answer.

 

“Why did you believe me?” The girl in question tilted her head, until her eyes lit up as she realized what I meant

 

“Well it’s not like you’re the first person to fall down here from another world.” She replied nonchalantly.

 

I have a sinking feeling that those portals in the air don’t lead to just my world. Which is now making me worry for the safety of everyone back home. At the expression I was making, she waved her hands in what she thought was a reassuring fashion.

 

“I-it’s not that bad, nothing bad has come out of the gates in hundreds of years.”

 

‘WOW, that is so _very_ reassuring Frisk, telling me that something truly _horrible_ came out of the wormholes that are only a few miles above us.” She crossed her arms childishly and stuck out her tongue.

 

“You’re one to talk. Mr. Telling people they’re video game characters.” I opened my mouth but remained silent as Frisk placed her hands on her hips and gave me a look.

 

“Shut up.” She gave out a peace sign in victory and I ruffled her hair as revenge.

 

“H-hey!” She yelped out and I chuckled as she tried to comb her hair back into place. I hummed in surprise as I noticed _four_ pies sitting on the ground on top of four sheets of paper. Frisk’s eyes brightened up and she grabbed two of them with her grubby little hands. My eye bugged out as one of them disappeared and Frisk looked similarly startled.

 

“Wha—.”

 

‘Ah Yes.’ Gaster suddenly cut in with his usual odd tone. We both turned to him, curious on what had occurred. I could already guess but I wanted to know for sure.  

 

‘That is what is called an inventory, a dimensional pocket space that magic users use to store items.’ Frisk looked absolutely fascinated and from her back she pulled out the missing pie. She started to play with it, the pie disappearing six times before Gaster coughed with a hint of annoyance. He actually looked excited and if I didn’t know better would think he was skipping as he approached the girl.

 

‘I have not seen humans use magic since before the war itself.”

 

Was Gaster alive during the war between humans and monsters? I wonder if he ever fought against humans if he was around all the way back then, or if he was too young to do so.

 

“Do you know how magic works among humans?” I asked the royal scientist and he seemed mildly eager to just talk. He nodded and Chara floated between us as we sat on Frisk’s borrowed bed.

 

“The type of magic humans can use depends on their SOUL trait.” We listened with rapt attention as Gaster began his mini lecture. “Unfortunately with my _erasure_ this is knowledge that has been largely forgotten.” Gaster looked sick and disturbed for a moment before his composure returned. “ There are seven _primary_ traits that humans possess.” He took a breath before he continued and gave a nostalgic smile.

 

“They are Patience, Bravery, Integrity, Perseverance, Kindness, Justice, and finally the rarest and most powerful trait of Determination.” Frisk only looked confused and opened her mouth to ask a question.

 

“But aren’t Perseverance and Determination the same thing?” Gates only shook his head and tsked at the girls ignorance.

 

“Not at all child, it would be more accurate to call it Stubbornness than anything else.” Frisk grinned as she understood what he meant and it was my turn to ask a question of my own.

 

“What kind of magic can each trait do? And do humans only have one trait?”

 

“Those are excellent questions young man, and ones that I will gladly answer.” Gaster eagerly replied much like a teacher who loves his job would.

 

“Some magic is shared between all traits, such as the inventory as well as using magic to enhance your strength, speed, and durability to superhuman levels.”

 

That’s actually pretty incredible, and that means…

 

Shit magic might be an issue if I ever get home again. I guess I’ll burn that bridge when I get there. The lesson isn’t over either so let’s keep listening.

 

“As for what each trait does…” My ears perked as Gaster continued his lecture on the intricacies of human SOUl magic.

 

“Humans with Patience can use blue attacks, generate barriers, and create ropes of energy. Though their barriers can be walked through or destroyed with enough force.”

 

“Brave SOULS can use orange attacks, and generate barriers when they are moving. Their speed is far beyond that of most mages as well, and their attacks are rapid as well.”

 

“So cool…” I heard Frisk whisper in awe at what magic was capable of. Frankly all of this sounded very similar to that Soul Magic AU I had heard about somewhere on the internet.

 

“Those with Integrity are essentially living lie detectors, and can also sense the strength of your morals. They can use some amount of blue magic as well, though it isn’t good for attacking.” He suddenly pointed to me and I straightened my back as I was out under the spotlight.

 

“Those with Perseverance like yourself, have a faster running speed boost than Brave souls. They can also create traps to immobilize enemies without hurting them. And when they are struck, they will hit back even harder.”

 

So I basically get Yang’s Semblance without the fiery explosions and the temper tantrums. I heard a squeal and I probably let out a sweat drop as Frisk gave the doctor puppy eyes. Gaster looked a little bashful at the attention and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“So I’m guessing that Kindness souls can use healing magic and make protective barriers of some sort right.” Gaster nodded absentmindedly and Chara suddenly looked ponderous.

 

“Can Justice souls shoot lasers?!” She asked with genuine curiosity.

 

“They can also project the vision of one eye to a distant location, run up or along walls, and in many cases possess excellent marksmanship.”

 

“That’s pretty cool actually.”

Man, Chara actually sounds like she’s impressed now.

 

“W-what about Determination?” I turned to find Frisk looking at the palms of her hands with unease and Gaster’s expression softened.

 

“Unfortunately the only thing I do know is that Determination souls can stop all other Soul magics.” Frisk looked at him in shock and she closed her eyes as if to concentrate, and I backed away slightly as her SOUL emerged from her body. She looked at the representation of her SOUL with wonder.

 

“Of course that is only very basic magic, and doesn't take actual spells into account.”

 

This would probably be where Gaster would say we’re wizards but that isn’t in his personality unfortunately.

 

“As for your second question, most humans do in fact have other SOUl traits within them. Obviously humans don’t have a single trait that defines them, they have all the other traits within them as well. Their heart color also varies based on the purity of their SOUL.”

 

“Purity?” Frisk asked him and he chuckled in response and floated upwards. Suddenly his eyes glowed orange and blue, and 7 red SOULS showed up each with a different shade of red. He grabbed one of the red ones, it had a small magenta core within it.

 

‘This represents a Determination SOUL with a secondary Patience trait. Most humans can only use one to three types of magic. Humans have their primary magic based on their primary trait, and secondary magic for their secondary traits.’

 

“How does that work exactly?” I asked him with trepidation and he cleared his throat as he answered my question.

 

‘A human SOUL isn’t entirely one trait, it’s a mix of them with the majority having one trait that comprises 51% or more of their SOUL, and the rest being a mix of other traits. Of course to be able to use other magic you need at least 5% of your SOUL to be made up of that trait.’ His hands glowed an almost ominous blue as he seemed to closely study Frisk’s SOUL and his expression changed from a calm one to a shocked one.

 

‘How remarkable…’ Gaster whispered in amazement.

 

‘Most humans primary trait purity levels range between 65% and 75%, yet Frisk’s is an unheard of 90% of Determination, followed by 7% Kindness and an even split for the remaining traits.’

 

“Um what’s my soul like?” He hummed as my SOUL came into view and I waited anxiously as he analyzed its properties. As the time started to drag on, a cough from my right indicated that Chara was growing fairly impatient.

 

‘Well?” Chara raises an eyebrow at the scientist, who lifted up his head from his evaluation.

 

‘Ah yes, sorry for the delay…’ He muttered with a tired tone that mildly worried me.

 

‘Brandon’s SOUL is 75% Perseverance, 10% Integrity, 5% Kindness, 5% Justice, followed by 2% Determination and an even split between the remaining two.’

 

‘You know that’s kind of a mouthful isn’t it.’ Chara replied cheekily, Gaster looked a tad sheepish at this and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

‘In my previous research on humans, I would usually use the color of the SOUL rather than their trait, but I wanted as much detail as possible for the three of you to learn.’

 

‘Next time please don’t…’ Chara begged as her left eye twitched. ‘Your _explanation_ makes up like a fifth of this chapter.’

 

Huh?

 

Frisk’s expression immediately shifted into her usual poker face, and Chara backed off out of what seemed like embarrassment. I guess she may not be wrong on the _ahem_ length of Gaster’s lecture, but it was rather informative. I flinched when I heard a knock at the door and heard Toriel’s voice calling. I placed down an irate Red who shrieked and chuffed as he scratched the floor with his claws. Frisk was the first at the door, and opened it to find Toriel with a rather serious expression on her face. She seemed resigned to something and sighed loudly as she looked at us.

 

“We need to talk.”

 

***

There was only an ominous and oppressive silence as we followed Toriel down the stairs. Frisk rubbed her hands together in nervousness and even Red seemed to be unnerved, it’s chirping lowering in pitch and leaving scratch marks on the floor with its foot claws. Gaster followed the queen quite closely and professionally schooled his expression. Chara seemed the calmest at the moment, but was making a fairly creepy smile. At this point I suspect the little girl is a nervous smiler of some sort. It just turns out her smile is naturally creepy, not like I’m one to talk with a laugh that sounds like a damn super villain.

 

We finally stepped into the purple hallway that would lead to the areas beyond the Ruins. 10 footsteps in, and we almost crashed into an immobile Toriel. She took a deep breath and turned around.

 

God she looks terrible.

 

Toriel had a deep look of resignation within her eyes, and it looked like she had been crying at some point. I noticed small plumes of smoke billowing out from her curled paws. She seemed to be shaking very subtly and Frisk eyes widened in  worried shock.

 

“Are you okay?” Frisk cringed the moment she said this, and placed her hands in front of her.

 

“That was a dumb question…” Toriel smiled and shook her head at the child’s antics. Red's head tilted as he leaped the short distance between Frisk and Toriel, landing just short of the queen’s feet.

 

“Not at all, but I have received some news of grave importance from… a friend.” She explained with a very low level of detail.

 

“You…” Toriel seemed to be rather pained and wouldn’t look either of us in the eye.

 

“You young ones need to walk through this door to the rest of the Underground.” My head tilted upwards to look up at her eye again in shock. This has never _ever_ happened in the games before, but then again I don’t belong here. This world is clearly different from the Undertale I know as well, and it’s likely an AU of some sort.

 

“Why?” Frisk sounded a little hurt and Toriel dropped down on a knee to look her right in the eye.

 

“Because a friend of mine said it is imperative that you leave this place within a few hours.”

 

Is… she talking about Sans. Wait should I capitalize his name or not?

 

Focus! Frisk turned to me as if to ask for advice and I froze unsure what to say or do. I decided to try to answer her through Chara since I could speak mentally to her.

 

‘Chara could you tell Frisk, that this might be about freeing the monsters.” The first fallen child’s eyes widened and she practically teleported to her partners side and whispered in her ear. Frisk was able to keep her poker face and I only noticed a single twitch of her eyebrow as she listened to Chara. She gave me a thumbs up and I nodded back.

 

“So… we should be going then?” Frisk asked with a fair amount of trepidation and I felt a little guilty that I may have influenced her decision too much. I don’t want her to get hurt because of me. In the game it’s not big deal to get killed during a fight but…

 

I can’t even begin to comprehend the kind of psychological damage that could be inflicted on her _and_ on me by dying more than once. But there frankly wasn’t a choice, I doubt we would be able to stay hidden in the ruins forever especially with Flowey out their biding his time. If we stayed he would eventually get impatient and _force_ us to go back to a save point. Or maybe the game will reload on its own anyway, I honestly just don’t know here. A rustling coming from Toriel startled me, and I turned my head to find that the monster was pulling out a _sizable_ amount of G from her inventory. She passed the money onto to us equally and my eyes bugged out as I read the total amount.

_6000G_

 

Chara and Frisk has a similar expression of their collective faces while Gaster didn’t look even slightly surprised. It meant we had 3000 gold between the two of us to spend on important necessities for the following journey.

 

“You’re giving us this much?” Frisk questioned Toriel with a hint of gratefulness.

 

“You’ll need it for that journey ahead of you.” Toriel replied.

 

“But… there is one more thing that must be done before you leave.”

 

“I _need_ to know if you are strong enough to survive for myself.”

 

_-Play Heartbreak-_

 

The caring mother transformed into an incredibly imposing figure, as her eyes became shadowed and powerful flames blazed into existence. Once again our respective red and Purple Hearts emerged from within our bodies.

 

“I don’t want to fight you!” Frisk screamed out and Toriel sadly smiled.

 

“Do not be afraid child, this will only be a test of your dodging capabilities. My friend has told me that will be all that is needed for you two to survive.” Frisk sagged in relief and nodded with some hesitation regardless. Small orbs of fire  orbited around her like planets around a star. The battlescreen appeared for the first time since yesterday and we raised up our hands to get ready for what was coming.

 

‘ **Toriel blocks the way**.’

 

“Let us begin.” A thin wave of tiny fireballs rocketed toward us at immense speed and—

 

Oh _shit_. This is way faster than I was expecting her to be. Not that I know what literal _magic_ attacks are going to be like in real life. We leaped to and fro to dodge the constant rain of magic that she was throwing at us.

 

Left, right, right, left, _OWW_!

 

The wave suddenly ended and we were left off with minimal damage. Frisk was the first to click the mercy button and Toriel said nothing.

 

“……” Toriel said nothing and started her next attack. The flame bullets rained down in a winding pattern and we ran left and right to move around them.

 

“Scraa!” We weren’t the only ones being caught up in the wave of fire. Red was screeching in indignation as the attacks left singe marks on his wing feathers. It instinctively reared to attack before he stopped himself and only hissed. The wave stopped once again.

 

This time I was the one sparing Toriel and she smiled with a small bit of pride.

 

“The two of you truly are Determined to not hurt me.” She replied and generated another flame burst, this time the bullets followed us like missiles and we had to run. I ran and leaped through the air to dodge with a speed I never knew I had. Out of the corner of my eye I swore I saw a purple glow but ignored it as a bullet whizzed past me. The waves only continued to pick up in pace and power and little by little our HP started to drop, but despite that we continued to Spare her over and over. I took a look at our HP and winced at how much damage we had taken.

 

**FRISK LV 1 HP 2/20**

 

**BRANDON LV 1 HP 1/26**

 

A wave familiar to me came down and I sighed in relief as Toriel’s attacks all missed on purpose.

 

“You have done well, end this battle and I can heal your injuries.” Frisk was the one to press Spare and we fell to our knees out of exhaustion, Toriel practically sprinted to our sides and began to heal us and the ache in my soul faded into nothingness. She looked remorseful as she looked at our state and shook her head in shame.

 

“I’m… so sorry I had to do this. I wanted to prepare the two of you for what was coming but I went too far. But I was afraid for you children, because if you are not careful you could be killed.” Frisk leaped into the monsters arms stopping her self deprecating speech.

 

“We’ll be fine, okay.” She comforted Toriel and continued to nuzzle her. “You’re still one of the best people I’ve met in my life, and I promise I’ll come back one day.” The Queen seemed on the edge of tears and hugged her tightly. I stood there awkwardly, not being too comfortable with entering the hug. After about a minute both let go and Toriel rose up to her full height. Toriel turned her gaze toward me and I fidgeted under it.

 

“I’m unsure if a hug is too your liking.” She stated and I gave her a so-so gesture. She decided against it and decided to ruffle my hair instead.

 

“You have a family to go back to I’m sure.” I nodded to Toriel’s guess and my eyes widened as I remembered something.

 

“Could I get my backpack real quick?” My question killed the somber mood and everyone in the room gave me a sour look. Chara facepalmed and looked to be embarrassed just to be near me.

 

***

I gave the backpack I had worn for my final year of high school a little once over and wondered what kind of effect it would have if any in battle. I looked around the room and crumpled down onto the still inflated bed. That was when I got an idea that might answer that question.

 

‘Gaster…” From the floorboards he began to rise like an old style vampire and he messed with his sweaters collar as if to adjust it somehow.

 

“Yes?” He asked me with a raise of an eyebrow ridge.

 

“Do you know if this backpack does anything?” He rubbed his chin and started to mutter under his breath as took a closer look. He raised his finger and let out a quite “aha” and turned to face me directly.

 

“Surprisingly yes, it adds about 3 DEF and adds some extra space to your inventory, however it’s more that you teleport items from the pack to your hand than anything else.”

 

“I guess it’s time to go then.” He nodded soberly and his body recessed into the floors.

 

I felt my left arms shake and held it with my right. I let out a shaky breath as I turned the knob to open the door.

 

I guess we’re off to Snowdin then.

 

***

We walked along the path in silence and I was _incredibly_ thankful to Toriel for lending us some cloaks that were similar to her own. Ours were of a different color, mine being a shade of dark blue, while Frisk’s was purple. The cloaks didn’t seem to add any defense at all, but they had magic in them that would protect us from heat and cold. Frisk clung onto me, and I huffed a bit in embarrassment. Red only had a magic hat, that resembled a red wizard hat of all things that would protect him, from what his feathers couldn’t. I fiddled with the cloak for a bit as it reminded me a lot of Ruby Rose’s cloak, that or just protagonist cloaks in general I suppose.

 

Frisk looked around and and there was a note of wonder in her voice as she spoke.

 

“It’s beautiful here…” She whispered to me and I nodded in agreement.

 

She hadn’t spoken in at least several minutes since our encounter with Flowey in the grassy clearing just before the entrance to this place. Flowey’s little speech had changed very little and I hoped that nothing else would turn up that was different.

 

‘There was camera in the bush back there you know.’ Chara informed Frisk, and looked a little worried at how quite she was. Frisk stopped and I took a deep breath at the large branch in our way. Frisk couldn’t pick up since it was bigger than she was.

 

‘It’s too heavy to pick up.’ Chara stated and we only walked a few more paces before a massive “Kathunk” heralded the stick being broken into small pieces.

 

‘It’s been smashed like it was nothing.’ Chara spoke with a hint of fear and I heard Gaster chuckle knowingly. We picked up the pace and Frisk clung even closer as we speed walked. The sound of footsteps could be briefly heard and our breaths picked up in answer.

 

Holy _crap_ Sans is good at setting up a _bone_ chilling atmosphere. From out in the distance we could see a poorly fenced bridge and Frisk’s face lit up in relief at our possible salvation. Just as we reached the bridge however…

 

We seemed to be unable to move any longer, and the footsteps could be heard drawing closer and closer. I decided to speak up to reassure Frisk.

 

“It’s going to be fine okay.” She relaxed and nervously swallowed, but froze up again when we felt a presence just behind us.

 

“ **Humans.** ”

 

I think I almost shit myself…

 

Seriously Sans voice is deep as hell, and there’s a tone of menace that really feels like he’s going to kill me and then skin me afterward y-you know. Frisk placed her hand on her chest as if too placate her beating heart and I wished I could do the same.

 

“ **Don't you know how to greet a new pal?** ” Chara wouldn’t even look at him, and was curled in a floating fetal position just above Frisk’s head.

 

“ **Turn around and shake my hand.** ” Frisk put on her game face and turned around to meet him head on. She shook his hand and…

 

“FRRRRRRT!” The look on Frisk and Chara’s face when that happened…

 

I fucking wish I had my phone out so I could record this moment for posterity.

 

“hehehehehe.” Sans the skeleton grinned, pulling his hand away from a hilariously stunned Frisk. “the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick…it’s _always_ funny.” An odd silence followed and the skeletons perpetual smile seemed to shrink, though mine had grown. Frisk started to smile, then cough, and finally started to laugh.

 

“Hahaha.” She let it out and almost fell to the ground, Chara snorted alongside her but was more restrained. Gaster looked proud of his son(?) and was amused by Frisk’s childish laugh. I smiled and snorted a bit and then helped Frisk steady herself. She smiled up at the skeleton who I noticed _was_ shorter than me, which I’m not really used to unless their younger or girls.

 

“anyways, you’re humans, right? that’s hilarious.” The both of us nodded knowing it was pointless to hide this from him if he had already guessed it.

 

“i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” He introduced himself to us and Frisk kept smiling and bouncing on the balls of her feet all the way through.

 

“i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.” Frisk’s smile dropped for a moment. “but… y’know…” Her smile picked up again and sans own grin grew in response.

 

“i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” I swear Frisk would have squealed if she could but held it in. Sans had a mischievous look on his face and I knew what was coming.

 

‘now my brother, papyrus…” His stands relaxed into a greater slump. “he’s a human hunting _fanatic_!” Frisk really looked like a kicked puppy and Sans actually looked _regretful_ for a moment.

 

“hey actually, I think that’s him over there.” She started to panic and Sans went in to fix the situation. “I have an idea. yeah go right through. my brother made the bars too wide anyone.” I’m sure it could stop any two though. We walked in front of him until he stopped and we turned to him.

 

“quick, hide behind this conveniently shaped lamp.” You know it really was a convenient lamp, though it required me giving Frisk a piggy back ride to hide behind. From our angle we could see an irate skeleton of…

 

Seriously what the hell is up with the monsters here, why are they so big. Papyrus is taller than goddam Shaq, and my _god_ his costume(battle armor) is adorable. Sans smile became more genuine as his brother’s loud footsteps approached.

 

“sup bro?” Sans lazily greeted his very eccentric brother.

 

“YOU KNOW WHAT SUP, BROTHER!” I looked up to see that Frisk and Chara were both grabbing their blushing cheeks with stars in their eyes. Frisk covered her lips as she almost squeed out loud. Strangely enough he wasn’t actually yelling, he just had a naturally loud sounding voice.

 

“IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL! HAVEN’T! CALIBRATED! YOUR! PUZZLES!” Frisk jaw dropped as Papyrus’s nasally voice put emphasis on each and every word in that sentence(sentences?)

 

“YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?” Sans gave us a glance before he answered his brother.

 

“staring at this lamp.” Frisk didn’t even seem frightened or betrayed at all, I suspect she had already guessed that everything would be fine.

 

“it’s really cool. do you wanna look?” I noticed that he had an accent that sounded kinda like he came from New York at times.

 

“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!” The whole time he complained Papyrus stomped his foot into the snow with anger. “WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!”

 

‘Oh _my_ god YES!!’ Chara couldn’t hold in her squee anymore and I felt like covering my ears as the high pitched sound rang.

 

“THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”(YES!!) “WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT! RECOGNITION! I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY ‘FRIEND’? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!”

 

“maybe this lamp will help you.” Sans suggested which only made his brother even more annoyed.

 

“SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!” Even more stomping followed and I heard a thankfully very quite short as Frisk actively covered her mouth.

 

“hey, take it easy. i’ve gotten a ton of work done today.” The air went still and Frisk shook as Papyrus braced for the incoming pun. “a skele-ton.”

 

“BA-DUM-TISH!” That turned out to be the final straw and Frisk broke out into full on laughter.

 

“Hahahaha!” Sans _conveniently_ got into his brother point of view and blocked us from his sight.

 

“see paps even the lamp thinks I’m punny.”

 

“SANS!!”

 

“come on you’re smiling.” I guess Sans was _ribbing_ his younger brother pretty well huh.

 

“I AM AND I HATE IT!” Even without seeing him I could tell Papyrus knew there was nothing he could do to get him to stop. Frisk smiled softly at the two brothers sibling interaction and seemed to be jealous(?)

 

“SIGH…WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME…HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION.”

 

That…

 

Feels much harder to hear in real life than through a screen. Frisk looked similarly sympathetic to the tall skeletons plight.

 

“wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself down… down to the bone.”

 

Another blast of drums rang through the air and I gave off a small unnoticed snort.

 

“UGH!!! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES…AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE—.” (That’s a pretty long pause.) “BACKBONE INTO IT!!!”

 

Papyrus walked out of the clearing. “NYEH HEH’ing” the entire way through. A few seconds passed before he let out a final “HEH” at Sans, and walked off.

 

“you can come out now.” I slowly walked out from behind the little lamp but fell into the snow, and Frisk placed all of her weight on my fragile neck.

 

“FRISK.” She managed to leap 12 feet in the air bruising my neck even more and instead of falling onto her head, she started to glow blue and was gently dropped down. I watched in shock as Sans…actually did something instead of just lazing about.

 

“humans.” We turned and then paled as we looked into the empty eyes of Sans.

 

“we need to have a little talk buddies.” We nodded and he grabbed us by the shoulders and beckoned Red onto his back.

 

“blink.”

 

We did so.

 

***

 

We took a good look around but could only see trees and snow for miles around, no sign whatsoever of civilization or a certain soulless flower in sight. Frisk looked a little scared but steeled herself. The only other being out here, would be Sans and he was turned away from us looking up at the ceiling of the Underground.

 

“Where are we?” Frisk asked.

 

“ _Tibia_ honest I don’t know.” Frisk giggled, and her nervousness was eased a bit.

 

“i’m sure you want to know why I went off script right.” This was directed toward me rather than Frisk and that told me that Sans really meant business here. He glanced at me and I was paralyzed in terror as his _glowing_ eye stared right through me.

 

“Yes.” I said with false bravado and he chuckled. He paced around us a bit as if to release pent up energy, and he looked more alive than I had ever seen him portrayed before outside of some AU Sans.

 

“you’ve already figured out i was the one to help you out with the old lady, am I right?” I palmed my face and nodded and he looked satisfied.

 

“i remember a _lot_ more than i used to, i won’t bore you with the _bone_ chilling details though.”

 

My veins turned to ice and while Chara and Frisk only looked puzzled. In that moment I was grateful to whatever higher power that their memories had been lost.

 

“this is going to be the last reset.”

 

That’s…good…Sans

 

“but we’re going to have to deal with the entity that’s forced Frisk and her little buddy to reset, over, and over and over again. We can’t kill it of course _but_ we can destroy it’s connection with this and _thousands_ of other timelines.”

 

Oh, god fucking why does life just love to screw with me at every turn.

 

“and after we beat it, we destroy the reset entirely, so if _it_ does come back it won’t be able to reset the timeline ever again. Especially with the oddities that are showing up now, when it fucked with _your_ universe.”

 

I usually don’t hear Sans swear and that frightens me…

 

“Just what happened Sans, I’m kind of in the dark here.”

 

“You think this kid would reset after getting their happy ending.” I shook my head no when I thought about it. Frisk _would_ try to help Flowey but I think she’s smart enough to know that resetting wouldn’t save him.

 

“that _thing_ apparently hitched a ride on Frisk’s SOUL and slowly took her over a few days after our _happy_ ending. it made changes to the code so that even if Frisk took back control, everything would reset after a certain time period. god there’s been _millions_ of resets, and it’s messed up the universe pretty bad now.”

 

“What kind of being could do something like that?” Frisk was the next to ask a question and Sans growled.

 

“i think… it used to be a human a long time ago, but something _happened_ to it that turned it into some kind of human amalgamate made out of _millions_ of human souls.”

 

“What does it look like?” Sans shook his head as to get rid of a bad thought and shuddered.

 

“I only remember seeing it’s eyes while my soul latched onto this timeline.” He sounded haunted and we waited anxiously for him to answer.

 

“Silver Eyes.”

 

***

“These are some nice gloves.” I placed on the gloves and admired their quality and comfort. After our lengthy talk with Sans he rushed us back, leaving us with an _avalanche_ of question left unanswered. Frisk was currently playing with a happy raptor, throwing snow all over the place. I gave Frisk a poke and pointed up ahead where the two brothers were talking. Frisk _beamed_ and started to pull me instead of the other way around, clearly eager to meet the youngest.

 

“You saved right?” Frisk nodded brusquely and I tussled her hair a bit, and smiled as she pouted.

 

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” Papyrus stopped mid sentence to stare at us. He turned to his brother, who turned to us, and within a few seconds they were both whirling bony brothers. Frisk giggled, but became dizzy as she tried to follow their movements. I grabbed her arm to stop her own spinning, just as Papyrus stopped his brothers spin.

 

I really have nothing to say about this at all, that hasn’t already been said by someone else. Papyrus pulled down his brother into a weird looking huddle and asked his brother in his best whisper. Which isn’t saying very much for his usual voice. “SANS? IS THAT? A HUMAN???”

 

sans(decided to not capitalize his name) gave us a knowing look and his trolling grin grew wider. “nah, just a very big moss rock.”

 

What do you know, there was a big mossy rock behind us easily as tall and as wide as Papyrus.

 

“OH…” Papyrus sounded like a kicked puppy.

 

“hey bro. what’s that in front the moss rock?”

 

Papyrus lit up as he looked at me and he looked ready to explode when he noticed Frisk next to me. Frisk blushed under the attention but did jazz hands  as an odd greeting. Chara rolled her eyes but smiled softly regardless. I decided to just wave hello, and sans shook his head in amusement.

 

“OH! OH MY! IS THAT! ARE THOSE HUMANS!” Frisk silently squeed at the giddiness that Papyrus was exuding even from this distance.

 

“yep.” sans replied.

 

“SANS I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT! UNDYNE WILL…! I’m GONNA!” sans gave his brother a little nudge and the little cinnamon roll regained his composure. Papyrus gave us a serious look, and in the non existent wind his cape flapped magnificently.

 

“HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL.”

 

‘Papyrus…’ Gaster gave a sad, nostalgic smile as his son(?) celebrated.

 

“CONTINUE ONLY IF YOU DARE!” Papyrus warned us and I couldn’t help but smile like an idiot, as he walked away, the entire time he was letting out his signature “NYEH HEH HEH!”.

 

“I’d say that went pretty well huh.” Frisk gave sans a thumbs up.

 

“I’ve got some stuff to do, but i’ll be keeping an eye socket out for the two of you okay.” Frisk waved goodbye and sans disappeared out of view shortly after waving back.

 

As soon as we started to get a move on again, we had our first monster encounter of the day.

 

‘Snowdrake flutters forth.’ We had ended up bumping into Snowdrake by mistake, since we had missed him at the box area. The dragon bird with poor dental hygiene, shook his head to remove the snow and glared at us. The battle menu quickly showed up and I winced as Frisk loudly facepalmed. Her eyes widened and I pushed her out of the way of a sheet of snowflakes, and I hit the ground hard.

 

“Are you—that’s a stupid question isn’t it?” Frisk placed her body in front of my own and let out a little growl that was less intimidating than a sneezing kitten.

 

“It’s _Ice_ to meet you!” Despite her anger she started to snicker and Snowdrake _beamed_ showing off his hideous teeth(not that I would ever tell him that)

 

We didn’t even have to use any of the buttons, this time and the battle ended. Instead of leaving however, Snowdrake suddenly looked a little guilty.

 

“I’m _snowy_ for all the trouble.” Frisk waved him off but he insisted and passed us about 20G for the trouble. He walked away with a spring in his step, and the last we heard from him was.

 

“Thanks for proving my dad wrong.”

 

“Bye bye.” Frisk waved to the odd monster and we kept moving until we stopped at the _marvel_ of engineering that was the station made by the great Papyrus. Chara floated down to look at the sign on it.

 

‘Ooo let me read it?’ She implored and Frisk nodded while I shrugged.

 

‘YOU OBSERVE THE WELL CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER…” Chara managed to perfectly mimic the adorable skeletons manner of speech, the only difference being that her voice is much more squeaky.

 

“I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN. (NOTE, NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMEN.” Chara was smiling the entire time while reading the note, and Frisk was giggling.

 

“He’s so cute!” Frisk squealed loudly, and then blushed when we gave her a look. I heard her grumble under her breath and just made out a “shut up.” as we arrived at Doggo’s…

 

Oh _crap_.

 

“Hide behind that tree now Frisk!” I whispered when I noticed that _Undyne_ was conversing with Doggo at his station. She was _far_ taller than I was ever expecting, in her armor she was only slightly under Toriel’s height but far more intimidating. Her black armor seemed to be sucking in the light around it like a black hole. I couldn’t really hear much of what they were saying, but a tilt of my head gave me some glimpses.

 

“Doggo, have you heard any rumors about _two_ humans lurking around the Underground?” I heard Doggo reply and shake his head no and Undyne sighed. We waited in bated silence and sighed in relief when the loud bangs of Undyne’s massive boots faded off into the distance. I cautiously gestured Frisk to move out of our cover and tiptoed toward Doggo. I felt Frisk grab my wrist and she shook her head.

 

“What _are_ you doing?!” I ruffled her head softly and grinned hoping to reassure her.

 

“He can only see us if we’re moving, and Undyne hasn’t given him anything that would change that”

 

“What if he hits us anyway.” She asked worriedly. I could see Doggo just starting to poke his head out of his station.

 

“His magic only hurts if you’re moving.” He mouth opened into an “oh” and she understood.

 

“Did something stop? Was it my imagination?” We froze to a halt as Doggo stood to his full height, he was at least a head taller than either of us and was pretty rugged for a dog person. He surveyed the area but ignored us despite being right in front of us.

 

“I can only see moving things. If something _was_ moving…” His glare deepened and a blue sword materialed as he made use of his magic.

 

“For, example a human. I’ll make sure it _never_ moves again.” He declared what he would do, and a new battle began.

 

‘ **Doggo blocks the way.** ” Chara narrated and we were given several choices. His sword suddenly sweeped in an arc and we kept still as the sword only faded through us. I could smell his breath with how close we were to Doggo, and Frisk’s eyes filled with curiosity. She raised a hand and pet Doggo on his arm.

 

“ **You pet Doggo.** ” Chara said in befuddlement at her partners actions.

 

“What!!! I’ve been pet!!! Pet? Pot?” Doggo shouted out in confusion, and let out another blue sword attack that _again_ failed to harm us. Frisk couldn’t help herself and she repeated her pets several more times before I forced the battle to end myself. Doggo started to mutter and and shake his head as the oddity of invisible pets finally caught up with him.

 

“s-s-s-Something pet me…? Something that isn’t moving…! I’m gonna need doggy treats for this!!!” Doggo himself back below the desk of his sentry and after a brief inspection of his eyebrow raising smoked doggy treats, kept walking…

 

We’re going to be walking a _lot_ in the Underground aren’t we? It took us like several hours but that was mainly because we kept getting ambushed my monsters all the goddamn time. Seriously this place must be miles long, which makes sense since we fell like a kilometer down.

 

“Hey sans!” I stumbled as Frisk and Red pulled in front of me, and started to jog which isn’t easy with this cloak(not a dress thankfully). He waved, and I blanked out as he explained his metaphor about blue attacks and stop signs to his next

vic— _audience_. Frisk nodded absently, and Red was imitating her perfectly. Frisk skipped right back to my side and pointed with her lips to the upper path of the area. I gave her the go ahead and I followed behind her as she _carefully_ slid across the ice, and—

 

“Shit!” And I fell right on my ass, and slid the rest of the way.

 

“Brandon!”

 

***

“That snowman and Ice Cap were weird.” Frisk said after we had a _strange_ encounter with two different ice monster. Like usual the snowman asked one of us to take a piece of him so he could see the rest of the world. No idea how he could see anything, but then I don’t how he even exists at all _so_. And Ice cap showed up and we had to fight him, and I ended up stealing his hat.

 

Told bad it melted though…

 

“Did you have to steal that Ice guys hat though.” I shrugged and she gave me a light push.

 

“Sorry, but it had to be done.”

 

“AH HUMANS YOU HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED!” Papyrus greeted us and we stopped short of the square empty of all snow.

 

“IN ORDER TO STOP THE TWO OF YOU! MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES. I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…. TO BE QUITE SHOCKING!!!” Frisk pretended to gasp and grabbed her face in fake fear.

 

“Oh no! What ever will we do to get past the great papyrus’s puzzle!” Papyrus seemed to grow taller, and he inhaled.

 

“DO NOT WORRY HUMAN, THE PUZZLE SHOCKS YOU AT A PERFECTLY SAFE VOLTAGE.” He reassured Frisk, who then sighed with faked relief.

 

“NOW IT IS TIME TO START THE PUZZLE HUMANS!” I walked in front of Frisk, and then touched the edge of the maze with my left foot.

 

 _BZZZT_ went Papyrus as he lit up like a single color Christmas tree and Frisk gasped in actual worry.

 

“Are you hurt?” She asked and Papyrus shook a bit as the remaining electricity passed through his body.

 

“I AM FINE LITTLE HUMAN, A LITTLE SHOCK WILL NOT DETER SOMEONE LIKE YOURS TRULY.” He turned to sans, and pulled out the orb after sans whispered something to him.

 

“AH, SANS HAS INFORMED ME, THAT I SHOULD PASS THE ORB!” He started to walk _through_ the maze, in the current path that wouldn’t shock him and Chara only palmed her face in disbelief.

 

“HERE.” I took the orb and Papyrus nonchalantly walked back as if nothing had happened. I then placed the orb on my head and started to follow the skeletons footsteps in the snow. We ended up on the other side without a single shock and Papyrus gaped.

 

“INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAILS!!” He complimented us genuinely and I felt a little bad that we had completed the “puzzle” so easily.

 

“YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY!! HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY, AS IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER!!”

 

“The PUZZLE WILL SURELY CONFOUND YOU, AS IT HAS CONFOUNDED ME!!” He continued his compliments, and I turned to find that Frisk looked flattered and was about to…

 

“No flirting!” I hissed out an order and Frisk pouted, as she stopped herself from blowing Papyrus a kiss.

 

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!” He let out some final laughs as he left to get his puzzles ready.

 

“heheheh.” sans seemed to be pretty amused at our antics and his body shook with laughter.

 

“even across timelines you haven’t changed a bit Frisk.” sans smile dimmed as he looked at the young girl, and Frisk then marched up to him.

 

“So about his costume?” She asked of him, getting him out of his funk.

 

Clever girl.

 

“heh, that little outfit was something the two of us made for a costume party a few weeks back. he ended up loving it so much he never takes it off, not even when he takes a shower. he keeps calling it his ‘battle body’. man isn’t my brother cool.”

 

Frisk seemed to agree but she was in a rush and dragged me off. We kept moving, though we took a brief stop to buy two Nice Creams and play the ball game. We passed the snowdecahedron and greeted the bone brothers once again.

 

“Hi.” Frisk shyly waved, and I gave them a brief nod.

 

“HUMANS!!!” I HOPE YOU’RE READY…” A brief dramatic pause followed, until Papyrus noticed the lack of a puzzle.

 

“SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!” sans pointed to the ground, and Papyrus followed his finger to the ground where a sheet of paper was lying on the soft snow.

 

“it’s right there. on the ground. trust me. there’s no way they can get past this one.” Frisk picked it up and her face lit up as she realized it was a word jumbling puzzle. I know it wasn’t necessary to solve it but Frisk was just so happy, I just couldn’t say no.

 

“Okay I found monster right there, the entire top row is also a word.”

 

Somehow…

 

“I found cigars, let’s cross out the ones we’ve finished.” Frisk mumbled as we solved the conniving piece of paper.

 

“I found fall,summer, spring,winter, and cig.”

 

“That’s not fair, you’re older.” I gave her another shrug, and she stuck her tongue out. She smiled as she had an epiphany and pointed to a couple of words.

 

“mermaid, robot, hot, and…” Frisk started to read a word backward and her eyes opened wide as she found it. “SKELETONS!!” She yelled out the last answer, and competed the ‘puzzle’. We left the puzzle in the snow and walked past it.

 

“SANS THEY HAVE SOLVED IT, HOWEVER I SUSPECT IT WOULD NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING IF THEY HADN’T” Pretty spot on detective skills there Paps.

 

“true, i should have used today’s crossword instead.” Papyrus looked outraged at his brothers suggestion and gave sans a dirty look.

 

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION…! JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST!!” It was sans turn now to look outraged and he turned on his brother.

 

“what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that’s for baby bones.” sans gave Papyrus his opinion.

 

“UN. BELIEVABLE.” Papyrus began to address _us_ instead.

 

“HUMANS!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

 

I’m sure the both of us would agree on what the right answer is.

 

“Crossword/ _Junior Jumble_!” Frisk had an expression of betrayal and I crossed my arms and narrowed my eye in response at her answer. Papyrus looked at a loss, and his brother would be no help as he gave me a thumbs up at my _correct_ answer.

 

“THAT…WAS LESS HELPFUL THAN I HOPED!” The taller of the two said with a hint of dejection, but perked up as he stared at Frisk.

 

“LITTLE HUMAN!” Frisk showed Papyrus her poker face. “I AM GLAD YOU UNDERSTAND WHICH IS THE HARDER PUZZLE. _UNLIKE_ THE SLIGHTLY TALLER HUMAN.”

 

Did I just get dissed by Papyrus? Regardless, Papyrus marched on ahead with no care in the world after getting the right answer from the _wrong_ human girl.

 

“papyrus…” Oh Frisk is talking to sans now.

 

“finds difficulty in interesting places. yesterday he got stumped trying to ‘solve’ the horoscope.”

 

Heh.

 

“We should keep moving.”

 

“Bye sans.” Frisk smiled up at me despite our _disagreement_ and we kept moving onwards into the Unknown. Frisk’s mouth started to water and I realized what was up ahead. On a small brown table a plate of spaghetti was just sitting out in the open. Frisk pounced and in midair grabbed the fork and tried to stab it into the pasta. She let out an “eek!” when the metal implement _bounced_ off the food, and Frisk quickly lost her appetite. Frisk’s eyes directed themselves to the mouse hole, then to the food, and then to the SAVE point.

 

When she grabbed the yellow star Chara was the one to speak up instead of Gaster.

 

‘ **Knowing the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the spaghetti…. It fills you with Determination.** ’

 

File saved…

 

We entered further into the snowy area and founded ourselves between three medium sized pine trees.

 

“Is that a dog…?” Frisk muttered. Oh _hell_ its Lesser Dog coming our way!

 

“Pet him with all your strength Frisk!” She nodded with determination and ran towards Lesser Dog. The dog monster barked and started to pant as Frisk raised up her hand to pet him.

 

‘ **Lesser dog appears.** ’ Despite his excitement Lesser Dog continued trying to pounce on us and barked happily the entire time. We were able to roll out of the way and were left unharmed. Frisk then proceeded to pet Lesser dog. With the pets Lesser Dog’s neck started to grow longer and longer and longer and longer…

 

‘ **You have a problem.** ’ Chara said with a mild look of disturbance, as The guardsmen head finally hit the floor.

 

‘That…is quite odd.’ Even Gaster was confused and horrified by Frisk’s obsession with petting. Immediately after just in case I went back to the SAVE point, and saved again. We decided to keep moving and we had another encounter with the dog guard. Currently Dogami and Dogaressa were circling around us quite enthusiastically, and then stopped.

 

“Hmm, what’s that weird smell…”

 

“It makes me want to eliminate…”

 

“Eliminate YOU!” This time the guards went after me.

 

‘The Dogi are assaulting you!’ Gaster warned and I ducked under the swing of their axes. I turned to Frisk in a panic and weaved around the attacks with surprising ease.

 

“Roll around in the dirt and snow now!” We both rolled down and I hoped to whatever power brought me here, that this would work. The dogs twitched and after dodging a turn of magical axe attacks, I hoped a resmelling  would confuse them.

 

“Smell like weird puppies.” Dogaressa muttered under her breath, which was when I dived in to pet her, while Frisk went for her husband.

 

“We’ve been pet by a puppy.” Dogami murmured in awe. Since we had pet both neither were jealous enough to keep attacking. They both stopped their assault and to apologize gave us 90 gold.

 

“Thank you for expanding our horizons, strange puppies.” Both thanked us at the same time and left at a hasty pace, that would make greyhounds envious.

 

“You’re welcome!” Frisk shouted after them.

 

“Let’s bounce.”

 

‘No one says that.’ Chara groaned, and I smirked at the girl with glee. Frisk looked like she wanted to ask me something, and I already had a good guess on what it was.

 

“In the next puzzles we have to turn the O’s into X’s.” Frisk tilted her head, but understood what I meant as we completed the first puzzle in a matter of seconds. The spikes dropped down and Papyrus was there waiting for us.

 

“WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP!?” Her eyes widened, and she looked sheepish for a moment.

 

“AND MORE IMPORTANTLY…! IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???” Chara winced when she realized we have to tell him we left the food.

 

“Um…” Frisk fidgeted, and I gently pushed her back so I could tell the truth.

 

“Um we sorta left it.” Papyrus was silent for a moment and Frisk looked at her feet in shame.

 

“REALLY!? YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOME COOKED PASTA. JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME??? FRET NOT HUMANS! FOR I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS…WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!”

 

Frisk looks back up at him in shock as he took our potential insult as a compliment.

 

“HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!” He left once again and a figurative lightbulb in my head lit up.

 

“Does every encounter with him end in him laughing into the sunset.”

 

“Iunno.” Frisk shrugged, and I remembered there was switch on a tree that would instantly solve the next puzzles. Frisk stepped on the switch and the the X’s became O’s instantly.

 

“INCREDIBlE, YOU FINISHED IT SO QUICKLY WITHOUT MY HELP!! YOU MUST LOVE PUZZLES AS MUCH AS I DO!” Again, laughing the entire way Papyrus moved on to that next puzzle.

 

“Let’s GOOO!” Frisk squealed, excited for the puzzles yet to come.

 

***

“I think we should eat some of the spider cider we bought from the spiders now.” I tiredly advised Frisk as we arrived at Greater Dog’s encounter area. Frisk leaned against a sign and whined, rubbing a few bruise forming on her arms and legs. She pulled it out and passed me one. The taste of the cider was rather _unusual_ but it healed us back up to full health. We had, also passed by the _still_ broken puzzles that Papyrus set up with Alphys help.

 

On the way here, a dozen different monsters ended up attacking us and slowing us down. Most of them were just Ice Cap’s and Chilldrakes so pretty harmless, that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt however. The icing on the cake was the monsters being pranked by teenage monsters, he was _not_ in a good mood when we encountered him. sans was nowhere to be found unlike normal, and we only found an odd note I was currently reading.

 

_sorry for not being in my usual spots kids. but I have something important i need to take care of. i’ve been watching out for the flower, need to keep the other monsters safe from him. brandon this is for you, you’ll get your answer soon enough. once you get to waterfall we’ll have lots to talk about._

 

_see ya-sans_

 

So that’s how he writes in letter form huh? Frisk’s ragged breathing leveled off, I could hear her mess about with the snow and annoying Chara.

 

‘Behold! A snow poff.” Chara now looked visibly annoyed and Frisk only looked happier as the ghost girl’s pale face flushed with anger. Frisk raised up a hand and Chara growled.

 

“You look cute when you blush.” Frisk went in for the Flirt.

 

‘ARGHH!! SHUT UP!!’ Chara yelled out and covered her face with her arms to block her intense blush.

 

‘Ah young love…’ Gaster reminisced and both girls gaped at him, Chara’s whole body flushed while Frisk let out a tiny “meep!” and instantly shut up. While the two girls were out of commission I let out a clicking noise that attracted Red and asked him to retrieve the gold. He dug it out using his hands and gave them to me. I gave him part of a spider donut as thanks and he chirped happily. I sauntered up to the final snow poff casually and sighed as the (hopefully) final battle of of this area began.

 

I heard a small boom as Frisk caught up and took a double take at the speed. Even Frisk looked shocked and gave her legs an extra look see but found nothing out of the ordinary. She had been a good three dozen meters away, and she gotten there in just under a second. Meaning she had accelerated faster than a super car with pure leg force.

 

“It’s a tiny doggy.” Frisk cooed as the white dog emerged from the snow poff. She turned almost bone white, when the 8 foot tall medieval mech suit it was wearing came out of the snow.

 

‘HOLY FUCK!’ Chara cursed as the big lug showed itself.

 

‘It’s the Greater Dog’ Gaster declared the start of the fight and we raised up our fists in self defense.

 

Let’s get started shall we.

 

“Uh come here boy.” I beckoned him and the mech dog and he bounded up to me, and left slobber on my clothes and face. It let out its slow color changing spear attacks and we had to move and stop to keep the damage minimal. I lost about three HP and Frisk only lost one. I went in for a pet and was bowled over by the _huge_ dog, and he promptly fell asleep. Too bad for me that he woke up after 10 seconds, my legs are certainly grateful though.

 

It let another straight row of spears and this time I took no damage as I stopped in all the right moments, but this time Frisk lost two HP and looked over my shoulder worriedly.

 

“I’m okay.” A big surprise came when _Red_ was the one going into the fight. He started to gather up snow with his forelimbs, formed a crude snowball and threw it. Greater Dog piled up all the snow and brought it right to me. He fell into the snow exhausted but he still wasn’t done. Red started to use his claws to gently pet and ruffle the great beast’s fur, we followed suit with our hands, and after avoiding several bark attacks defeated Greater Dog, earning 100 gold for our trouble. He left his suit for the moment and gave Frisk and I a brief lick. He also managed to pilot his mech suit upside down.

 

“Let’s cross that bridge.” Frisk added awkwardly, unsure what to say after the absurd nature of Greater Dog. We jogged across the bridge and slowed to half as Papyrus stood in our way.

 

“HELLO HUMANS, I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT I HAVE NO PUZZLES TO BEFUDDLE YOU. I REALIZED MY NEW PUZZLE WOULD NOT BE FAIR, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH A TRAVESTY.” From up above and below I observed the various _very_ dangerous objects that surely would have maimed us if the trap was functional.

 

“BUT DO NOT WORRY HUMANS, OUR CONFRONTATION WILL SOON BE AT HAND!”

“NYEH HEH!!”

 

“He tested out the thing and figured out that it was broken.” I asked with a head shake.

 

“you got it in one kid.” I pulled out my phone and my eyes bugged out when I figured out how long we had been travelling.

 

_7:02 PM_

 

_Monday, July 2_

 

We had literally been walking for hours, without rest, food, drink or water. Solving puzzles, fighting Monsters, and out in the cold too. Frisk had a similar look until it shifted back to her oddly blank look.

 

“Why does your face look like that.” She didn’t reply to my question and started to sleepily lean onto my shoulder. I noticed the sign but didn’t feel like talking.

 

_Welcome to Snowdin_

 

We walked past the shop, with Frisk absentmindedly using a SAVE point, and slowly stepped forward to the Inm.

 

“ **The…zzz sight of such a friendly town filled you with Determination…zzzzzz.”** _And_ Chara just fell asleep and is slowly being dragged by the red string of fate connecting her to Frisk. I looked up at the sign that said Snowed Inn.

 

Hehe I get it.

 

 _God_ I’m so sick of this shit now. I want to go home, back to my nice and warm bed and finish getting ready for college. But first I need to keep this kid alive and as healthy as possible. A blurry eyed Frisk quietly asked the cute little bunny child inside the inn something.

 

“Mom says that sleeping can recover your health above your maximum HP. What’s maximum HP.”

 

Very informative…

 

“Hello. The older bunny lady perked up as I addressed her and she gave me practiced but still genuine smile.

 

“Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin’s premier hotel! One night is 80G.” I nodded and the slightly worried women agreed, and I passed her the money.

 

“Here’s your room key. Makes sure to bundle up.” She stopped as she realized there were two of us. “There may be an issue  since there is only one bed.”

 

“We’ll…zzz stay on opposite sides.” Frisk yawned as the journey caught up with her. The bunny lady showed us to our room, and the both of us took off our shoes. The bed was thankfully larger than in game, making it _way_ less uncomfortable for either of us. I tucked myself in, and Frisk followed behind. I took the left side while she took the right side.

 

Ahh, I hope I get some nice dreams…

 

Zzzzzz zzzzz zzzzz

 

***

Hmm what’s going on? I guess I’m asleep now which was pretty quick. I viewed the pitch black I was in with indifference, until I heard crying to my left. My eyes narrowed at the sound and I flinched at how… _raw_ it sounded. I shivered as I felt a wave of sadness and resentment push me down, and despite my reservations steeled myself and followed the crying.

 

I found myself in a long wooden hallway that had clearly seen better days, I saw parts of the wood rotting away, as well as huge cracks and holes in the walls that didn’t come from age. I kept walking until I saw a light emitted from a door, open just a crack. It was small but it was enough to see what I needed to see. I spied through the door, and watched what looked like a slightly younger version of  Frisk with a man and women that looked to be of mixed descent. The women looked Hawaiian and was about half a foot taller than I was. Her skin was dark and well cared for, and she wore an immaculate black and red dress that exposed the small of her back and some of her sizable cleavage. She would have been cute with her heart shaped face and small nose if it wasn’t marred by the cruel and vindictive expression on her face. Her left eye was blocked by her flowing and wavy dark brownish red hair, while her right was a shade of green.

 

Next to her, was her sibling who stood over a head taller and twice as wide. He looked like a stereotypical drunk Irishman in some manners. He had a barrel chest and had a fair amount of reddish hair on his beefy arms. He wore a red and orange flannel shirt with dark blue jeans worn by use. The man had a large square jaw covered in a thick beard, and his hair was wild and unkempt. His brown eyes were open wide in an unadulterated _rage_ that frankly terrified me. I turned toward Frisk and froze when she started to sob.

 

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” I froze again when I noticed the unhealed injuries covering a good part of her body. There were several raw circular burn marks on her arms and legs, bloody scratch marks from human nails, as well as a fractured arm. Frisk despite the clear pain she was in, started to run ducking and weaving as the uncle and aunt changed after her.

 

“Get back here you piece of shit!” I flinched at sheer anger in both their voices.

 

No…no they couldn’t have right? She managed to evade them, especially after Red slashed through one of the uncles eyes. I blinked and took a double take as I found myself in a closet with a cowering Frisk. The door had dozens of little slits that let me barely see through the door. From the slit, I could see Red hissing at the two angry humans. The man sneered and grabbed a large metal pipe from the floor. I heard Frisk whimper, as the uncle lifted up the pipe.

 

“Maybe the little brat will come out if we break her pet.” Red let out an ear piercing shriek in response. However his eyes suddenly widened and he seemed to be trying to warn the man now. Frisk paled and I blanched as a _massive_ dark shadow casually stepped toward the two humans.

 

The shadow’s skin seemed to shift, to a lighter scale tone and I realized it had camouflaged. The animal tapped it’s long raptor toe on the hardwood floor, and dragged its long arms on the floor, it’s five fingered hand tapped the floor in anticipation. It’s skull was huge over 2 feet long and filled with hazardous teeth and molars of all things. It’s red eyes looked at the humans with contempt and _disgust_. A single swipe of it’s tail threw the aunt against the wall, and I heard a clear snapping sound as something broke.

 

The uncle yelped pathetically and swung the heavy pipe against the raptor. It stopped the swing with a single arm and yawned. Its grip tightened and the pipe crumpled at the sheer force it was put under. I couldn’t see very much and I felt a whoosh of air and another snapping sound. I hazarded a close look and felt sick at how quickly the man had been turned into a corpse, a single large bite mark through his stomach. The women screamed, and the raptor turned against her next.

 

The women’s shrieks were silenced as the dinosaur blocked my view and I realized she was certainly dead now. It callously threw her body through the wall, and stared at the unhidden little raptor known as Red. The two glared at each in a silent standoff, after a minute it ended with the 10 foot tall murder beast snorting and walking away. I thought it was over until I heard the plodding footsteps of it once more, within its hands it held a clean and new First-Aid kit that read—

 

 _Medigel Included!_ The wary and smaller predator sniffed at the package but relaxed as the huge raptor thing walked away dragging two broken corpses. Red grabbed the kit and with his snout gently nudged the door open, as this happened Frisk whimpered some more. Red nuzzled her, and opened the kit pulling out the so called medical and managing to dab some of it on her various wounds.

 

I don’t think animals are supposed to be smart enough to know what medicine is, outside of great apes, elephants, and whales. Red sniffed around her right arm, and after some prodding I winced in sympathy as he _set_ the fracture. Holy hell Frisk didn’t even let out a cry this time. He poured a greater amount of the gel on the area and Frisk relaxed. She wobbled onto her feet and took the medical pack, a small plush toy(a cinnamon roll of all things), and a rectangular object. She walked to the front door of the house and slowly turned the door knob with her wrist.

 

I followed after her hesitantly, and…Holy _shit_ that’s a lot of fire. Wherever she was seemed to be under attack by something, and out in the distance I could see the city I had arrived near over a day ago. So her village had to have been twenty or thirty miles out, since it was sitting on top of a pretty high hill. Most of her village seemed to have already left, after the fire burned away everything. Clearly the fire was recent, and I turned around as I heard a crack. Her home had collapsed into a blaze as flames from a nearby home jumped onto it.

 

Frisk took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the distant form of Mt.Ebbot on the horizon. Frisk and Red gave each other a glance and nodded in seeming agreement. They started to walk, and a strange sta—

 

What was I— oh right that vision(memory). Where am I now? I’m back in that dark place again and I’m hearing increasingly creepy whispers all around. Guess I have no choice but to follow them and see where it leads me.

 

As I moved around the voices became more clear and I already knew whose memory this likely was.

 

“Look at her eyes, they’re unholy!” A snide and high pitched voice shrieked.

 

“No one wants you here DEMON!” An older man with a southern accent roared.

 

“Inhuman scum!!” A fanatical voice crowed.

 

“Just throw that useless bastard child out onto the streets where she belongs.” Shadowy images passed by me giving me glimpses of _her_ life, that I honestly wish I had spent not knowing. A shadowy silhouette getting chased by kids her own age, and falling into a dirty dumpster full of rats and cockroaches. A smaller and younger one, getting a damn _lamp_ smashed into her skull. And another time where she was thrown out a window.

 

Nicer memories started to come into view. A small girl falling a half mile and landing safely on a pile of golden flowers.

 

“Hey do you need any help.”  A young male filled with concern offered his help to someone never been given any before. I swore when the image suddenly glitched and turned white. I heard laughter that sent shivers down my spine, when I looked at the young girls face…

 

Suddenly the pale and maddened face of a genuine DEMON was inches from my face. Her eyes leaked black and I screamed in terror as it turned its head completely around.

 

“ **ERASE OR DO NOT. What will you choose!** ” I scrambled away, and I felt memories that weren’t my own invade mine. I saw countless versions of the people I got to meet through the game. I saw a Frisk and Chara that wasn’t my own face off against another sans, and he started to _sing_.

 

“ _You know, I’ve been thinking. About you and me. Was this preordained._ ” The scene faded away into static, and a new scene with a girl wearing a red and black sweater clinging to a red eyed sans appeared, again it faded away, and more timelines seemed to appear and disappear. A Papyrus wearing an orange hoody, next to an excited sans with a blue scarf. A singing Asriel Dreemurr as he fought Frisk for control of the timeline. A Chara poisoned by another Gaster different from the one I know, and the prince later absorbing her SOUL. I flinched as the dream glitched and I found myself in front of a melancholy sans in the Hall.

 

I looked down and noticed I was wearing Gaster’s clothing for some odd reason. My eyes widened when I noticed the Dust that caked my hands. My right hand held a recently used knife and I felt sick. sans laughed madly and the _look_ in his eyes.

 

“heh I thought that with you here, you know things would be different.” sans spoke with poorly hidden rage leaking out. “in the end you were just another toy for _her_ to play around with. you and I both know know i don’t mean the kids of course.”

 

sans shook his head and his grin started to widen as he took a step forward. I took an involuntary step back, and he took another step forward.

 

“honestly i’m pretty bone tired here.” He yawned for emphasis. “so let’s get to the chase.”

 

In an instant sans was suddenly inches away from his face, his left _and_ right eye glowing. His blue and orange eyes pierced me to my soul, and I noticed he was wearing his brothers scarf. _Hundreds_ of Gaster Blasters appeared, as well as dozens of bones sharpened to fine and sharp point.

 

“You’re _gonna_ have a bad time!” I felt a strange pressure in my body, and I flailed helplessly. I looked down to find what the issues was, and found a bone I was impaled on.

 

_Oh._

 

The dream faded once again. I then fell to the ground and the corrupted Chara grabbed me by the face and smiled. One of her red eyes, turned a mirror like silver and her hair darkened to black.

 

“ **You have only delayed the inevitable, you can not stop us. No matter what, you will _always_ fail!!!**”

 

_BZzzz_

_BZzzz_

_BZZZT_

 

This might be the briefest and least traumatic of my visions in the last several minutes(hours?). In an unknown lab I could see a younger doctor Gaster conversing with a happier sans. The scene became disjointed , and I felt and heard the screaming of people, of monsters as _something_ horrific was happening.

 

“CORE IS—.” It was cut off…the blurry monsters showed up again, but this time they were fading away into dust. Gaster pushed away an injured sans, and he fell into a strange blue light. He started _screaming_ as everything that he was, was stripped down to nothing. His very existence was retroactively erased, no one but _one_ remembering that he even existed. I could _feel_ the agony as his body was slowly turned into unstable goop. In the end the feeling that he felt the most of while trapped in the endless and empty Void was one I was most familiar with.

 

Loneliness.

 

***

I woke up with a start with no idea of what my dream was until I had been up for about 10 minutes. I leaped out of the bed and promptly threw up what little physical food still remained in my body. I kept dry heaving for another twenty minutes and I felt wetness on cheeks. I felt them out.

 

“Tears huh…” My knees shook and I felt a _rage_ I had never felt in my life before. If those people had still been alive I would, I WOULD!

 

“Deep breaths, relax.” The heat in my chest dropped but it hadn’t subsided. As I looked around in a hotel room that shouldn’t exist I laughed bitterly.

 

“I’m not going to be sleeping very well tonight.”

 

 


	4. Chapter Four: Hanging out with Papyrus and an Explanation

**Chapter Four: Hanging out with Papyrus and an Explanation**

 

Despite what I had said to myself I had managed to sleep better than expected, I had been up for two hours, and got about six hours of sleep. Of course waking up ending up being more uncomfortable than I expected. Because clinging to my numb right arm like a baby koala, was Frisk. She looked mildly peaceful and her nose started to twitch as a small dust bunny went up her left nostril. Her nostrils flared and her eyes scrunched.

 

“Ahhh.Ahhh. ACHOO!” Her purple eyes opened instantly as her own sneeze woke her up. Her gaze trailed up my arm to my face, then she flushed and promptly let go of my arm, crawling to the other side of the bed.

 

‘You sound like a foghorn Frisky!’ Chara cackled and the pacifist in response growled and pounced onto the girl bringing her body down to the ground in a pile of limbs(?). _Wait_ what the hell, how the fu—?!

 

‘It seems that the young princess is starting to become more physical. An interesting new circumstance that must be studied.” Gaster looked hopeful and I heard his light footsteps as he walked up to my bed. He raised up a finger and…gave me a poke. It wasn’t much force however,  his touch like felt like a solid burst of wet air touching my cheek. He seemed happy, and his smile reminded me very much of Papyrus.

 

“Gah!” I practically leaped out of the bed, and as I stood back up on wobbly legs I looked around to find the source of the sound. My puzzlement turned to bemusement as I saw a blushing Chara being glomped by an affectionate Frisk. Frisk nuzzled the older girl’s cheeks like a small puppy, and my grin shrank as I saw a small cut on her right cheek. I felt a semi liquid hand place itself on my shoulder and I lifted my gaze to Gaster’s concerned face. His eyes widened and he grasped at my face for a moment. I pushed him away, and scowled and felt my frustration leak to the surface.

 

“Quit it!” I snarled, and Chara and Frisk’s play fighting came to a stop. Chara floated up, and raised an eyebrow and I then gave her sneer that made her flinch. I counted to five, and took deep breaths to calm myself, and gave her what I hoped was an apologetic look.

 

“Have you been crying?” I glanced away at Frisk’s question and sighed as the memories of my visions came to mind. My hands trembled with boiling anger and I forcibly tried to control that anger.

 

“Yeah…” I trailed off as Frisk crosses the distance between us in less than a second. She grabbed my right hand gave me a small smile, which made me even more hesitant to answer her.

 

I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, I don’t exactly know what I’m doing here you know. I’m a 17 year old with semi useful future knowledge, with no fighting capabilities, Asperger's syndrome or whatever they call it these days, and no resources or technology that could counteract those weaknesses. I mean I’ve got magic but I don’t know how to use that yet. But with her Determination I doubt there’s much that would deter her from finding out.

 

“I had a dream…” Frisk tilted her head and I braved myself. “I saw you with your aunt and uncle.” Her eyes darkened and her head lowered, covering her lavender eyes with her brown bangs. Chara looked confused until she started to stare at Frisk’s arms, and she looked _furious_. Despite her current turmoil I heard Frisk ask me to continue.

 

“They were going to hurt you more and then throw you into the ocean right?” I hoped to _somebody_ that I was wrong and my hopes sank as Frisk nodded slowly. Gaster’s expression shifted into one of horror, and he barely managed to cover Chara’s scream of anger with his arm. Frisk started to tremble and even hyperventilate. She might not be one of my brothers but even if the oldest is a spoiled brat, I wouldn’t want this for him and the youngest is not even a year old yet. I wrapped my arms around and she stiffened in response, it was the best I could since I’m not a psychologist.

 

When I get home, I’m going to find and hire one since she clearly needs one. The little indications of the outside world tell me things like medical and mental health are even more of luxury than back home. I figure some of the monsters here could help though, I mean they’re _literally_ made of love and compassion. A few of the ones here probably need help too though, sans and Alphys obviously, Asgore and Toriel, Chara, Burgerpants, and Blooky too.

 

‘What _else_ did you dream?!’ Chara asked aggressively and I sighed. Chara looked angry and I couldn’t blame her, with my violation of their privacy. Not that _I’m_ the one in control here however.

 

“I didn’t have a choice.” She scowled and I raised my hand to stop her retort. “ I _mean_ it, I have no idea why I got some your memories. Beside you _think_ I wanted to see the fucked up shit in _all_ three of your lives. That’s going to give me damn nightmares for a while.” Chara looked apologetic and floated over to me, she stared at Frisk with an odd look in her eye.

 

Wait… I rolled my eyes and poked her on the nose.

 

“If you want to hug her, hug her.” She blushed but did what I said, hugging the sad girl from behind.

 

‘What did you see?’ Gaster sounded frightened and Frisk had finally relaxed into the hug. _Wait_ there seems to be something rectangular poking me in the chest.

 

“Before we get to that, what _is_ that?” Frisk looked confused until I poked the object under her sweater. Her sadness disappeared for a moment and she pulled out some kind of tablet, and a cinnamon roll from under there. Chara looked a little redder than usual, and I wondered why. Frisk gave a forced tada and jazz hands, and with a swipe of her hand activated it. It kind of looked like the newer iPads but something about it seemed off…

 

The responsiveness of the touch screen was unreal though, making anything we had look like garbage by comparison.

 

“It’s a tablet I found with a _lot_ of stuff I don’t fully understand yet.” Actually it looks likes it’s OS _is_ from Apple though clearly more advanced. She went into the settings and my breath stopped as I realized just how _much_ storage it had.

 

_70 Petabytes of 128 Petabytes Used_

 

Holy crap, their tech has to be decades ahead of anything we have today if it can store that much data in a 9.7 inch tablet. Wait I shouldn’t be getting distracted right now.

 

“Wait, back to the doctors question.” Frisk nodded and I started to address the skeleton. Gaster looked very expectant and I rubbed the back of my head with nervousness.

 

“I saw some flashes of Chara’s life. About how her village seemed to hate her, insulted her eyes, and called her a demon.” Chara’s eyes turned cold though it wasn’t directed at me thankfully. “I saw a few bits of the incident that scattered you across space and time, there wasn’t a lot of detail however.” Gaster’s slightly arched back, straightened itself out at the reminder of the accident and his eye sockets narrowed.

 

‘There’s something else you dreamed as well isn’t there?’ I had really had enough of all these revelation and responsibilities.  But it was best to be honest with my… would I call them friend(head buddies?). I mean I guess we’re stuck together in a literal time loop, and oh _god_ I’m stuck in a time loop if we can’t destroy the Reset.

 

“I…yeah there was something else. I got jump scared by Chara.” Chara’s eyebrows furrowed and Gaster’s left eye blazed blue. “But it wasn’t her, it was _something_ else. In that part of the dream I think I saw other timelines.” Gaster looked shocked and wary, and I swear I heard a crack as if something that broken. I turned and found a broken piece of glass from somewhere. I looked around but found nothing in the room that would tell me where it came from.

 

“Gaster…?” He refrained from answering my unspoken question and sighed, rubbing the spot where his nose would be if he was human.

 

‘You met _her_ then?’ I nodded warily and he pat my cheek as if to look for something. He looked relieved after a couple of seconds and his seriousness decreased.

 

‘Now I know for sure that she can’t enter this timeline for now.” I guess they hadn’t been sure yet then? Gaster continued to drone on and I tuned myself back into the conversation. ‘Our combined power should be enough. Regardless I’ll make sure she won’t be able to enter your mind, though she can’t do very much other than give you nightmares or annoy you.’

 

“I still have no idea what the hell this _thing_ you’re talking about is.” He shook his head an I frowned as I realized he wasn’t going to answer.

 

‘It would be best to tell you after you complete this area.’ I grew more annoyed and my frown raise up into a neutral expression. ‘And to do that you will need to face Papyrus.’ Frisk looked alarmed and she shrunk, making it very clear she didn’t want to hurt the tall skeleton.

 

“Fine.” Gaster relaxed a tad and at least looked a little apologetic. About a minute passed before I realized that Frisk and I were still hugging I tried to gently let go but she wasn’t having it. Her hug tightened, and from the corner of my eyes I noticed Chara letting go with mild embarrassment.

 

“Frisk, let go.” I asked her dryly and she shook her head in protest and buried her unkempt head into my chest. She looked at with a happy and mischievous twinkle in her eye and I let it go for now.

 

“You hugged first you know.” I huffed and acceded to her since she was right, but we needed to leave and keep making progress to the end of the Underground.

 

“We need to leave the hotel Frisk.” She pouted but let go and grabbed her tablet before she could placed it under her sweater. I was ready to grab her plush before she started to whine when my fingers brushed it. I stopped and she took it into her arms and cuddled it.

 

“Why do you have that?” I asked her, curious on why she seemed to be so attached to the adorable plushie.

 

“My…mom made it for me.” She whispered and I stiffened at her answer.

 

Oh…

 

“Sorry.” I apologized and she smiled softly, and patted my right forearm.

 

“Hey it’s okay I’m not made out of glass you know.” She did her best to reassure me and gave a thumbs up too. I nodded and gestured for her to move, she followed behind me and we walked downstairs. As we did so we got a warm and friendly greeting from the unnamed bunny lady running the Inn.

 

“Good morning, the two of slept well I hope. It’s quite rare for people to sleep through my families snoring.”

 

“Wasn’t so bad I slept pretty well actually.” The bunny lady smiled as Frisk reassured her while rubbing her eyes, removing the crust that had built up over two nights(?). The small bunny kid said nothing as Red let out a chirp and shriek. Red looked a little frustrated and shook his head jumping down from the desk with a flutter.

 

“Um lady do you know any place where we can get something to eat?” Frisk held her belly while saying this. The bunny lady hummed as she thought about and then replied.

 

“My sister next door would be a good place for some breakfast, Grillby's would be good for lunch though.” I tapped her shoulder and we waved goodbye to the innkeeper. Without my hood I let out a shiver as the cold wind hit my face. I grabbed Frisk’s hood and put it in on for her not wanting her to get sick. I pulled mine up and with Frisk in tow walked in to the Snowdin Shop. As I walked in I heard a _certain_ soundtrack playing over some speakers and I raised my eyebrow at the new information.

 

The Shop bunny placed her hands on her hips as we approached her counter and she smiled politely.

 

“So you’re the two humans my sister has been telling me about? Take a sniff around for anything you like.” Frisk looked around curious to see what we would find that could help us on our quest. She picked out a Mandana and lifted up to me, and I nodded. She beamed and grabbed an extra that she placed on her neck like a scarf. I wore it around my wrist because I wanted to be different.

 

“We want two Manly Bandanas and three Cinnamon Bunnies please.” Frisk asked politely and the bunn lady seemed to be only inches away from squealing at the adorableness. She stuck out her tongue as she thought about the price and nodded.

 

“That would be 175G.” I passed her the money and she thanked me for the business.

 

“Thank you too lady.” Frisk looked grateful to the monster and grinned.

 

The shopkeeper looked suitably happy, however her grin shrunk a tad. I thought something was wrong until I noticed she looked curious. “Hey, it’s nice to know that humans have gotten better after all these years. Frisk’s chest puffed up at the indirect compliment and Chara only rolled her eyes. “I haven’t heard a single case of monster being hurt during your time in the Underground and I’m thankful for that. I wonder if all the humans up above are like you?”

 

Well…shit that might be a problem, with how fucked up the surface is right now. Honestly my world is less of a shithole than this one is if you’re talking about society. The environment seems a lot cleaner though, if _way_ warmer than I’m used to.

 

“At least a few definitely are, and the ones that aren’t live too far away and are too few in number to do anything about it.” The monster looked a little worried at Frisk’s reply but was at least a little reassured by the second part of that sentence. We waved goodbye to the good natured bunny and walked back out into the cold of the small town.

 

We raised our hoods backup to block the cold and I decided maybe it would be nice to walk around the town for bit before we face Papyrus in battle. It’s not like either of us would be hurt too much, other than getting knocked out I would hope. Unless Undyne shows up prematurely which would be really bad. Frisk’s eyes lit up as we made out the brightly lit and well decorated tree in the center of the town. Frisk joined the other kids in marveling at the tree, though she didn’t get to pick out a present like them.

 

‘Is that bear just shouting politics and doing jazz hands every other sentence?!’ Chara asked me in bewilderment at the spectacle that was the two arguing bears. And don’t even get me started on the face she made as we passed by a Bunnylady walking her little brother. The Bunnyguy nearby had the same doubts on what was going on and kept his distance.

 

‘Some people have…strange habits.’ Was all Gaster had to offer on the subject. Chara puffed out her cheeks in confused frustration and floated onwards.  Frisk ran back from staring at the tree, and I felt a strong rush of air as she missed and crashed into another monster.

 

I hope they’re both alright… I picked up Frisk with my right arm and picked up the the other monster with my left arm. I held the both of them by the scruff of their necks.

 

I have to be at _least_ two or three times stronger than a normal human. The kids weigh like 200 pound put together, _and_ I don’t feel any strain with just three fingers. I put down a flustered Frisk, and a somewhat excited Monster Kid. He was a couple of inches shorter than Frisk. The yellow scaled and stripe shirt monster looked up to Frisk with stars in their eyes.

 

“Yo! You’re so fast!” They complimented Frisk who blushed under the praise.

 

“Um sorry for tripping you, I can’t really control my speed yet.” Frisk apologized but Monster Kid only shrugged her off. They inspected her for a moment  and their eyes lit up in recognition as they glimpsed part of Frisk’s striped sweater.

 

“Yo! You’re a kid right?” Frisk nodded with uncertainty. It was surprisingly difficult to tell whether or not MK was male or female but it didn’t matter. They turned to me next and inspected me and smiled up at me.

 

“Thanks for not letting me fall.” I smiled at their energy as they bounced from foot to foot. Frisk looked similarly energized by his enthusiasm and vibrated in place. Chara snorted but also…looked a little jealous(?) it seemed of Frisk. I turned my head from the sight and back to Monster Kid.

 

“The two of you must be new to town right?” I nodded to the kid’s question. The starry eyed kid didn’t stop at only one question.

 

“WOWW! You guys must be from the city. Did you come because of the rumors about _two_ humans being sighted?”

 

“Humans?” Frisk chirped in with a nervous look. The kid nodded fervently.

 

“Yeah! That’s never happened before, humans have always come in one at a time. I heard they managed to get past the dog guard a little while ago too.” Frisk glanced away with a wobbly smile and scratched her head.

 

“If The Humans are going to keep going, they’re going to have to fight…” They stopped in a dramatic pause. “ _Undyne!_ ” Frisk looked worried for a moment but also confused until I gestured my hand to indicate someone really tall. Her eyes widened and she turned a little pale at the idea.

 

So I managed to communicate nonverbally with some success. Frisk wrapped her arms around herself and I heard her clear her throat.

 

“Undyne?” Monster Kid took a step back in shock and Frisk seemed a little frazzled by their response.

 

“You don’t know who Undyne is?!” Frisk shook her head no and they gasped.

 

“She’s the Captain of the guards, and the toughest monster in the whole of Underground!” Frisk was shocked at MK’s fanboyism but seemed to think it was cute and giggled.  

 

“I’ve heard of her actually and it would be nice to meet her.” Frisk turned to me frantically, her eyes clearly saying that was a bad idea. But I know we won’t be able to avoid her forever. Especially since she showed up early during our walk to the town.

 

The Kid gasped. “That would be awesome! Especially if you met her!” Frisk placed her hand to her chest, once Monster Kid turned his attention to her. “With how fast you are, Undyne would love to train someone like you to be in the Royal Guard.” Frisk looked rather flattered and grinned, placing her hands on her hips as well.

 

‘Mmm…” Chara muttered passive aggressively. I smirked and gave her a very subtle nudge.

 

‘Jealous much?’ Chara huffed and with a kick of her foot she dislodged a small rock from the ground, and it rolled to Monster Kid’s feet. The young monster had been watching the entire time, and Chara blanched at blowing her cover. Frisk covered her mouth for a moment before retracting the offending hand. He managed to look directly into Chara’s eyes, couldn’t see her of course but still.

 

“Yo someone there?” Kid spoke right to open air with no compunctions whatsoever. Chara’s blank expression said it all. “You must be a really shy ghost monster right? You can show yourself if you want.” I sighed and decided the best way to save face would be to just tell him.

 

‘We can just pretend you’re a weird ghost monster. Besides you could use some friends.’ I thought she would protest even just a little but she only fidgeted for a moment before opening her mouth.

 

“Hello?” MK strained their ears to hear them. Chara took a deep breath and started to speak much louder to compensate for her weak voice. “I can’t really show myself too well, I’m sorry.” MK didn’t have any issue with that and only smiled in the direction of the human girl’s voice.

 

“That’s okay and you don’t have to talk either if you don’t want to dude.” Chara seemed grateful to Kid and smiled just a bit. Monster Kid suddenly pouted as he remembered something.

 

“Ah man! I just remembered I need to get home for supper.” They sounded disappointed and Chara frowned as well.

 

“It was nice meeting the three of you!” The three of us waved goodbye as the Kid walked off, nearly face vaulting for a second time. He managed to catch himself and happily walked back home.

 

“Look Chara you made a friend.” Frisk teased her a bit, and Chara grumbled a bit as Frisk insisted we visit the misspelled library. We entered into that building walking past a couple minutes of monsters. Frisk hovered to one orange book and asked Chara to read it for her. Frisk opened the book and the first fallen child hovered over to read it.

 

“Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL. If a monster doesn’t want to fight. Its defenses will weaken. And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us.” Frisk’s initial enthusiasm for the book dropped and she looked increasingly disturbed as Chara read on. “Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill…Um let’s just end the chapter here…” Frisk looked completely horrified at the idea and shivered.

 

“I don’t think I want to read anymore books.” Frisk said numbly and I pulled her away from that section of the library.

 

“Do you think we should go face Papyrus now?” Frisk asked me and I nodded with some hesitation. “I mean I know he won’t hurt us but I’m still nervous.”

 

“I…think we’re ready.” The both of us were uncertain but this was necessary to move forward. Frisk sighed as we left the library, and gradually passed by the skeletons brother house. Again the Underground was _far_ larger than depicted in game and we had to go through a very long pass. Frisk pulled in closer as the light fog was replaced by an intense flurry of snow and ice. From out in the distance we could barely make out the dark outline of Papyrus. I shifted my inventory around, getting ready for the inevitable battle.

 

“HUMANS. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE…THE JOY OF MEETING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. AS WELL AS THE FAMILIARITY OF AN OLD FRIEND, AND A STRANGE URGE TO BURST OUT INTO SONG. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER’S PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THIS MUST BE WHAT THE BOTH OF YOU ARE FEELING!!!” Frisk smiled up at the skeleton, who looked mildly nervous at what came next. I frowned as I realized Papyrus somehow remembered being friends with Frisk in another timeline.

 

“I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT.” Frisk gave Papyrus a worried look as his mood dropped, she lifted up her index finger as if to get an idea. Turning toward the skeleton she opened her mouth to reply.

 

“You know…we can be great friends if you want.”

 

“THAT IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA HUMAN.” Frisk beamed once she realized he liked the idea. “YES WE WILL BE—.” Her smile dropped as he cut himself off.

 

“NO! THIS IS ALL WRONG! YOU ARE ALREADY FRIENDS WITH THE OTHER HUMAN. BESIDES IT IS MY DUTY TO CAPTURE YOU! WITH THE CAPTURE OF TWO HUMANS I WILL OBTAIN EVERYTHING I WANT! I WILL BE THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!” Frisk panicked as the battle box showed up and I knew I should have warned her earlier about his attacks.

 

‘ **Papyrus blocks the way.** ’ Chara announces dejectedly as our battle with Papyrus began. I stopped Frisk from slamming her hand on the flirt button and glared at her.

 

“No Frisk!” She pouted but listened and pressed the spare button not wishing to fight with Papyrus.

 

“Seriously what is up with the flirting?” I questioned her and she glanced away.

 

“I wanted to set you up with Papyrus.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“I’m sorry Frisk, he’s a nice guy but no.”

 

‘Is it because he doesn’t have a d—.’

 

‘You finish that sentence young Chara, and I’ll tell Gaster to smack some sense into you.’

 

Papyrus lifted his right hand, and music started to play out of nowhere.

Some slow moving bones were easily dodged and I scowled when I noticed that Red was sitting the battle out, yawning as he rested in a pile of branches he had somehow gathered in a crude nest.

 

“NEITHER OF YOU HUMANS WISH TO FIGHT ME? LET US SEE IF YOU CAN FACE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK!” Frisk raised her eyebrows as the fast moving and glowing blue bones passed through us. Frisk didn’t look particularly impressed and I noticed that her HP was at 30/20 while mine was at 36/26

 

_-play Bonetrousle-_

 

“That wasn’t so ba—.” Frisk cut herself off.

 

Oh _crap_ that’s way to much! My knees buckled from the sheer mass piling on top of me. Frisk seemed to be struggling similarly and she took a shaky breath to calm her nerves.

 

“I…didn’t think he would be this strong. He’s stronger than the dog guard” Frisk seemed utterly shocked at how powerful Papyrus actually was, which was about when I realized Papyrus had a greater attack stat than Undyne, that was before the update changed the stats though. I looked down see that my SOUL had turned blue, Frisk looked at Papyrus with admiration and awe.

 

“YOU’RE BLUE NOW. THAT’S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH” Papyrus declared with a cackle and Frisk grasped her SOUL in shock. We were a little wobbly on our feet and if we were still basal humans we would have been crushed under our own weight.

 

“YOU SEE THE POWER OF MY BLUE MAGIC DON’T YOU HUMANS!!” Papyrus openly boasted and Frisk painfully nodded.

 

“We just need to last as many turns as possible until he spares us okay.” Frisk gave me a Determined look and gave Papyrus a fierce smile.

 

“BEHOLD!” The skeleton started his attack and despite the _gravity_ of the situation we managed to leap over the first volley after his blue attack. It grew progressively harder however. With the bones now reaching several meters into the air. We huffed a bit after the attack and Frisk was the one on our end to press the mercy button.

 

“DO NOT MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” Oh I know we have to get ready for that attack. I noticed from the corner of my eye the annoying dog lying in wait and he gave me a nod(?). _Okay_ then moving on from that. The glow of Papyrus’s hand grew brighter and he sent out another far higher wave of bone attacks. Frisk blanched as the bone missile macross rammed right toward us.  We bounced from side to side, taking refuge in the small spaces between the bones. Occasionally bones there were bones too wide for us to dodge, so we had to _jump_ instead.

 

I couldn’t begin to describe the sheer exertion within my muscles and my SOUL to jump over five times my own height. I felt the air whistle past me and my eyes bugged out of my skull as I left a crater in the snowy ground. The next wave started up as we continuously spammed the mercy button. Honestly had no idea how the monster could tell since they can’t see the screen but…never mind it’s probably magic.

 

“SOON THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL BE POPULAR, HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!!” Papyrus seemed happy, though I could see an underlying worry under his jubilance. The only reason I could only tell was because of how easy he was to read, meaning even someone like me could tell when something was wrong.

 

‘Holy sh—!’ Chara shut her trap as another wave started and we succeeded in dodging most of them.

 

Shit! I ended up being clipped by one of the bone pillars and a quick look at my HP made me frown.

 

**BRANDON 32/26 HP**

 

“WHEN I DEFEAT THE TWO OF YOU, UNDYNE WILL BE PROUD OF ME!!” I rubbed my bruised chest and Papyrus looked mildly regretful. He shook his head and i heard a muttered “I MUST KEEP ATTACKING.” and _woah._

 

We had to jump up again and I turned quickly once I heard Frisk give out a cry of pain. Her feet had been clipped by the tall bones, and her head then banged into the floating ones. I landed and picked her up checking her health.

 

**FRISK 23/20 HP**

 

“I’m okay.” She let out a cough that worried me and she waved me off. She got into a crude fighting stance. I heard Papyrus talk about what would happen after he captured us and he sounded more and more reluctant _to_ capture us.

 

Time passed and each attack became easier and easier for us to dodge. Even then our health and dropped to below our normal limits with Papyrus’s steady blows.

 

“SOMEONE LIKE THE TWO OF YOU ARE REALLY RARE.” That was honestly really flattering hearing something like that from a person as great and as nice as he is. I’ve never been the best at making friends but I wouldn’t mind being friends with anybody here.

 

Except for Jerry.

 

Fuck Jerry…

 

Right another set incoming!

 

“Right, up, left, backflip!” How the hell is Frisk doing that?! She’s doing a ton of bullshit anime maneuvers and it’s working! I jumped up and and rolled myself into a ball in midair to avoid the upper bones. Then I rolled over another of Papyrus’s magic bullets _while_ in a ball.

 

“IMPRESSIVE HUMAN, BUT CAN YOU FACE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!”

 

He’s starting it early?! I looked to to my right to find that the dog was gone and I hoped he was where I thought he was. As he prepared his attack we had to jump over his shifting bone attacks and we lost 3 HP in the meantime.

 

“C’mon Papyrus can’t we just be friends instead?” I feel like that may be a little cliche but I am serious about this. Frisk looked at Papyrus pleadingly and he hesitated at the look on her face.

 

“I HAVE NO NEED FOR MORE FRIENDS HUMANS!!” The monster seemed to tremble a bit and Frisk only shook head in frustration. He pushed another rapid bone attack the displaced the air around it and Frisk froze in shock. In that moment everything seemed to slow down for me.

 

I had to Persevere…

 

A brief purple glow erupted around me, and I grabbed up Frisk and gave the attack a kick that shattered it to pieces. I placed Frisk back down and she looked bewildered at the small crater my kick had left behind. Even Papyrus looked shocked and impressed.

 

“SO THIS IS WHAT HUMANS ARE CAPABLE OF…” Papyrus was left speechless for a moment but he continued onward.

 

“BUT IS NO MATCH FOR MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!” Of course as he summoned it he found the dog had chewed his attack down to a mere splinter and Paps looked like he had no good things to say. He threw away his special attack and chased the dog away in frustration. His hand trembled and he seemed to stop short of letting loose another attack.

 

“I CANNOT DO THIS ANYMORE!” Papyrus yelled out and the battle ended abruptly surprising the both of us. Frisk seemed confused by the sudden change in mood and she rushed to his side. I took her left side as she stared up at the monster who was slowly tearing up.

 

“Papyrus?” Frisk asked with a tremble of her upper lips.

 

“I DO NOT KNOW WHY, BUT IT HURTS THE MOST WHEN I TRY TO HURT THE SMALLEST HUMAN!!” My eyebrows shot up at his answer and my hand curled up into fist, asking myself about how much he remembered his friendship with Frisk.

 

“I BELIEVE WE CAN BE GOOD FRIENDS HUMANS!” Frisk looked positively ecstatic as he spoke but it didn’t stop there. “I WILL WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!”

 

Right in the feels with that one…

 

Frisk immediately jumped into the kind skeleton’s arms and held on tightly and I heard her whisper something into Papyrus’s ear equivalent.

 

“OF COURSE WE WILL NOT LEAVE YOUR GUARDIAN OUT OF THIS HUG!!” Papyrus happily replied.

 

Wait what—

 

I was pulled into the hug and I felt heat rush to my face as I was held with my feet dangling into that air. His weird glove things were fairly warm and I only let it happen, not knowing what to say. There was a brief awkward silence and I coughed.

 

“Could… you put us down now?” Frisk didn’t seems to want to but I had, had enough of hugs.

 

“OF COURSE HUMAN, I DO NOT WANT TO MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!!” Frisk looked a little guilty now, and I breathed a sigh of relief as Papyrus put me back down onto the cold ground.

 

I couldn’t help but smile with the general atmosphere of happiness and relief that was surrounding. Frisk landed on her feet from her position on the strong skeleton’s chest and she beckoned Red to her side. The raptor gave her a sniff and a once over, and he chuffed at Papyrus. Gesturing to Frisk with his snout, our monster friend looked confused until he slammed his left hand into his right palm in realization.

 

“LITTLE BIRD, YOU WISH FOR ME TO HEAL THE HUMANS YES.?!” Red nodded and the skeleton started to concentrate his left hand glowing green, and our bruises and scratches were quickly healed away. I had enough of wondering how smart he actually was and decided to go right to the source.

 

“Hey.” Red’s neck perked up in a bird like fashion and he gave me a friendly chirp.

 

“You’re just as smart as the rest of us aren’t you?” The bird like being gave me a smug look that screamed “and your point is?”. Frisk actually _rolled_ her eyes at me and I pouted.

 

Oh yeah of course I won’t have questions on whether or not a fucking _dinosaur_ following us around like an archetypal animal/spirit companion was intelligent or not. Cus you know non avian dinosaurs are a total normal part of the ecosystem, and of human life back home you know! I mentioned as such to Frisk and she looked a _bit_ more understanding, it didn’t help that _Chara_ was giving her a disapproving look.

 

I turned to Papyrus after I realized we were ignoring him and I gave him what I hoped was a friendly grin. Based on the look on the two girls faces, I had clearly failed. But the blue magic using skeleton didn’t seem to mind at all, and gave his signature chuckle.

 

“WOWIE!! MY FRIEND COUNT HAS INCREASED BY THREE!! WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS…” He paused briefly to take a breath. “WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??”

 

“YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME MUCH HUMANS. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH!” Frisk gave him a look of gratitude and gave him a small bow, and Papyrus managed a _very_ odd blue blush in response.

 

“THE DIRECTIONS ARE SIMPLE, CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. ONCE YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US UNDERGROUND. ONLY SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL LIKE THE TWO OF YOU CAN CROSS IT. THAT’S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN, TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN BE FREE!”

 

Frisk looked incredibly Determined and gave me a nod, and I nodded back with a small hint of confusion.

 

‘Frisk has always been a kind child despite her origins.’ Gaster the old fart, hey don’t give me that look you’re obviously old. Gaster _had_ a look of nostalgia on his face for brief moment, most likely remembering the times before the countless cycle of resets. Papyrus continued his monologue and I tuned in.

 

“HE’S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!!! I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST ASK, HE WILL GUIDE YOU TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!” Frisk seemed unsure on whether or not he was

right and turned to me. I gave her a shrug and she pouted as I didn’t give her an answer. “ANYWAY!!! THAT IS ENOUGH TALKING!!! I’LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!”

 

Then the happy skeleton…

 

He…

 

Uh…um uh wa…?

 

How the _fuck_ is he doing that?! That dang skelly is somehow walking on air, well float walking, breaking the goddamn laws of physics!! I mean it’s one thing to see that through pixels, and it’s another thing to see a monster do _that_ in front of your own three dimensional eyes.

 

‘Did that just happen?!’ Frisk and Chara had the most adorable looks of confusion on their faces, like a cute puppy tilting its head. I couldn’t help but pinch Frisk’s cheeks and she flushed in embarrassment.

 

“Brandon!” She shouted and I let go with a smirk, she gave my stomach a bunch of mini slaps and I burst out laughing. “Stop laughing!” She demanded and I shook my head.

 

“We should be meeting back up with Paps.” I ignored her pleas and she stomped her feet, and I could hear Chara cackling in the background.

 

“Not sure what you think is so funny, the second you turn physical I _will_ do the same to you.” Chara stopped and gave me a hate filled glare, and suddenly she burst out laughing as Gaster gave her a light feathery touch on her belly with his bony fingers. Chara gave him a punch that did nothing and he chuckled, his distorted voice giving it an eerie pitch.

 

‘Such attacks have no effect on me princess, I guess you could say they go right _through_ me.’ The beat of a certain drum echoed through the air out of nowhere, and Frisk cheered up immensely taking pleasure in Chara’s suffering. The Filipino girl looked absolutely devious and I decided to play along.

 

“C’mon Chara lighten up, he was only _ribbing_ you.” Chara actually slapped her face and growled and it was now my time to continued her torment.

 

“Yeah, besides puns like these are pretty _humerus._ ”

 

‘ALL OF MY HATE YOU BONEHEADED BASTARDS!!!”

 

“Ehhhh!”

 

‘GAAAHHH!!!’

 

***

 

We walked back to the town in relative silence with only Chara’s grumbling breaking the monotony of the journey. Turns out we had actually jogged a fair distance from the actual town, and at our leisurely pace it took take us 10 minutes to get back. In the brief span between each of Chara’s grumblings I decided to test something.

 

‘Hey Frisk!’ The eighth fallen child almost jumped out of her skin, and I knew for sure that she had heard me. Gaster looked curious, and was probably thinking about the scientific ramifications of the strange link between four of us. I wonder if he knew the cause of it, since he had been within the void when _whatever_ happened, happened.

 

‘I do.’

 

“ _Can_ you tell me?” I asked him desperate to have answers, he glanced away and I sighed when I realized that was a no.  From our current vantage point I could just about see the edge of Snowdin, and I hoped that there wouldn’t be anything too different that it would force us to reload, or god forbid reset.

 

‘I do have my own questions however. In exchange I will tell you what I know once we reach my son at his station in Waterfall.’

 

I guess I have some confirmation on what the relationship between him and the bone brothers are now. Not like I bothered to ask of course.

 

‘Fine…’ I sighed internally and Chara smirked at my annoyance.

 

‘What do you want to know?’ He rubbed his chin in thought, and narrowed his eye sockets. But then he thought of something else before he wanted to start his questions.

 

‘Oh yes, I failed to inform you of some of my most recent findings on human magic.’ I leaned in wanting to learn more, my own curiosity insatiable. ‘ I remembered that those of Integrity have forms of telekinesis or gravity manipulation as some of their abilities. And there is one example of spells that I removed from the War.”

 

“What is it?” Frisk wanted to know, and stood on the tips of her toes.

 

‘Mages during the war would have strange circles, runes I believe that would unleash various magical attacks, or create unique spells that shouldn’t be possible for a mage to use, without the corresponding trait.’ I thought about it and made an educated guess.

 

‘Maybe, these ‘runes’ are injected with a trait, like how the fallen monsters were injected with DT.’

 

‘Brilliant, that may just be right, I _never_ did attempt to extract other traits with the early prototypes. But now it is my turn to ask questions yes.’ I nodded feeling tired.

 

‘I don’t know very much about the geography and politics of your world, if our world’s are connected eventually there will be contact with your humanity.’

 

That sounds like a reasonable deduction. I’ll play 20 questions with Gaster no problem.

 

‘Well there’s about 196 countries on my planet.’ Gaster flinched at the number of nations my world had, Chara seemed to already know this, but Frisk’s eyebrows quirked at nations.

 

‘What’s a country?’ Frisk asked with a mental tilt of her head. The fact that at 12 she doesn’t know what a country is, is a bad sign about the state of her planet.

 

‘Uh it’s a very large and organized group of people who together create laws and some amount of order.’ Chara seemed to know her stuff well enough.

 

‘Are they nice countries?’ Frisk asked and I shrugged.

 

‘Some of them aren’t so bad, but a lot of counties are often in a really bad state, and only barely functional.’ Frisk frowned at that, and looked a little sympathetic for people in their countries I bet.

 

‘Perhaps you have a map of your world.’ I wondered at that and pulled out my phone from _somewhere_ most likely my inventory, and my eyebrows furrowed as I noticed I had dozens of notifications that had started to come in. I stopped as it felt like lightning ran down my spine, and opened them up.

 

The emails were from my parents…

 

And I couldn’t read them…

 

If I held my phone any more tightly, it would probably crack under the pressure. I forced myself to take a deep and shaky breath, and Frisk looked at me in concern. Gaster seemed to feel sorry for me, and he patted my head, his body feeling much more solid than back in Snowdin. I shakingly looked for a map, and found it in pictures even though I had never downloaded it before. Frisk gave it a look and her eyes widened significantly before they returned to her usual half lidded look.

 

“There isn’t as much water as usual.” She rummaged around my backpack and pulled out a photo on her tablet, showing me a picture of _her_ earth. A close look told me that ocean levels on this planet had risen over 75 meters. Europe was now a true continent, but at a substantial cost with the loss of most of the north plains. Spain, parts of France, and several Nordic countries were now islands, and so many ancient cities had been lost to the unrelenting ocean. It looks much greener and warmer than old Europe too. A huge strip along Egypt is now a huge island, and the Sahara has moved hundreds of kilometers inland. A small part of Africa has been invaded by water, and its heart is now a vast lush green. Oh and Zanzibar got screwed over and doesn’t exist anymore so sucks for them.

 

Oh an of you take a look around Arabia, Iraq’s water too so nobody has to deal with _that_ hot mess anymore. There’s a vast inland sea that brings water to central and South Asia. Heck Afghanistan is mostly steppe instead of desert. The Ganges plains have made way to the sea all the way to the Chinese border. Only reason I know any of that is because I have a map of course. I’m not exactly an expert on world or even American geography. I can only see maybe a few thousand square miles of dry desert land on the subcontinent, so it seems like a climatic paradise in some sense. If you ignore the loss of Bangladesh, half of Burma, Thailand, parts of Cambodia and Vietnam…

 

Most of the island nations are complete fucked, either buried under meters of water or made much smaller over time. Australia looks like what it did 50,000 years ago when they still had monitor lizards the size of crocodiles, ducks the size of bears, and wombats the size of SUVs. Makes me wonder if they got brought back like the dinosaurs. If they did that means Australia is even _more_ of a dangerous shithole than before. Not that it’s _actually_ a shithole, only in memes on the internet really. There’s two big inland seas in the southeast. Moving back to Europe and Asia , Siberia is now a major breadbasket of the world so I guess they’re doing okay. And when I look at China…

 

Holy _shit_ you could fit Japan two or three times over in their new sea. Most of their lowlands are just gone. And based on the map for North America, Mt Ebbot is in the Cascade mountain range as a neighbor to Mount Shasta and next to the ocean. Most of New York, Florida and the states around Louisiana are gone. New England is an island, and I think we(if you’re American like me.) have lost several states forever.

 

Ah…goodbye Florida man I’m sure we won’t miss you. Oh and North and South America are separated again so that’s a thing. When I look at this map, I think of Oprah is giving everyone a new inland sea. Meet Amazonia, a super sized sea bordering rainforest.

 

But Antarctica…

 

Now _that_ is a sight for curious eyes. Oh Antarctica is anything but frigid, outside of the little bits of it’s glaciers on its peaks. Most of it seems to be forest that I wouldn’t mind visiting someday, preferably with armed escorts since I don’t want to get eaten by, I don’t know Antarctican tigers and bears. All this fertile land gave me one question, and as I thought about home I felt unease.

 

‘How many people live on earth?’ I asked Frisk and she flipped to some stored text in her device. She let out a teeny “aha!” and pointed her finger to the answer.

 

‘About 40 million!’ She looked strangely proud to have found that data and I gave her an uncertain pat on the head for the trouble. I felt her head lean into it, making me feel a little uncomfortable but I let her be.

 

Learning about this planet, and the portals on its surface that might lead back home. I don’t like our chances of everything going perfectly well. This planet seems to have pretty much recovered from the walking, talking mass extinction that humanity would have been in their heyday. But it had to have been through artificial means, no way the planet would recover it’s diversity in only three

hundred years. The planet’s  average temperature must have risen like 6 degrees celsius with the changes to the surface. A good 20% of the land is gone now, but what’s left has to be much more fertile than it’s ever been. Most deserts are practically non existent, and Siberia could probably feed billions of people with ease. And the amount of minerals and oil available in Antarctica would be a lure to everyone back home.

 

And there’s no one here with enough numbers and economic size to stop people home from basically taking the entire planet’s natural resources. Seven practically empty continents to exploit and even conquer. It could be a new scramble for Africa and that didn’t end particularly well the last time.

 

‘Why do you look so worried?’ Frisk asked with her big eyes staring into my own, and I lowered my phone as I decided to respond.

 

‘Because I’m afraid my world might try to exploit this one, since my world outnumbers everyone here almost 200 to one.’ Frisk’s jaw dropped, and Chara nodded in agreement as she mulled the numbers in her head.

 

‘It only gets worst since the only people I know with enough numbers and organization would be the people of Underground’ I said with a mild hint of skepticism, the monsters being a bit too nice and pacifistic to serve as a counter to the US, or the other major powers like the EU, China, Russia, maybe they would do well against some small island nations and _possibly_ North Korea. Monster technology is _way_ more advanced so that should help them out.

 

‘Wait, what is the population of the Underground?’ I asked Gaster.

 

‘About 100,000.’ He replied.

 

So _if_ the population of this California is 200 times less than mine, Monsters would be one third the population.

 

‘We’re here…’ Chara dryly informed us, clearly tired of our conversation.

 

“Wait we’re supposed to hang out with Papyrus!” I shouted out loud in realization and Frisk shot up an inch into the air as she remembered.

 

“Go, Go, Go, Go!!!” Frisk encouraged me as we ran to Papyrus and sans home not wanting to run too late.

 

***

 

“SO YOU CAME BACK TO SEE ME! YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS…” the orange dressed skeleton looked happy to see us, and we both waved hello.

 

“I’LL HAVE TO TAKE THE TWO OF YOU SOMEWHERE REALLY SPECIAL. A PLACE I LIKE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME!!!” He began to guide us at a rapid pace, and we struggled to keep up his blurring legs. We walked all the way back, to where the mouse and demons clotu monster where standing. We did a u-turn and Frisk gave our skeleton friend a puzzled look. As we approached his house, Chara let out a groan of realization.

 

‘He’s leading us right back to his house again isn’t he?” Chara’s asked rhetorically and Frisk snorted. We stood at the steps to his home, and the tall monster’s jaw moved.

 

“MY HOUSE!!!” He opened the door and walked in, leaving us behind for a moment, and Frisk giggled as we opened the door and entered.

 

It was a nice and cozy house, and Frisk seemed to like it a lot. She patted the soft green couch, and her gaze lingered on the kitchen as well as on sans room, which glowed with an eerie light. There was a long wooden table with the bone brothers pet rock sitting on his plate. We stopped just short of the coffee table with sans pun and physics books, with Papyrus standing to the left welcoming us to his home.

 

“WELCOME TO SCENIC MY HOUSE! ENJOY AND TAKE YOUR TIME!!!” Frisk was more than willing to take up on the skeletons offer and went right for the book on the table. Frisk whispered to Chara and I head her reply back.

 

‘It’s a joke book. You want to take a look inside?” Frisk nodded and opened the book and Chara looked a little baffled.

 

“Inside the joke books is a quantum physics book…” _That_ went on and on until Chara had enough and hissed for the girl to stop going down that rabbit hole. A frazzled Frisk instead moved on to the TV and turned it on, wanting to know what was on it. I groaned quietly when I heard one of Mettaton’s soundtracks playing on the device and I remembered that we had to deal with him in Hotland.

 

“OOH, IT’S MY FAVORITE GAME-SHOW!”

 

“Stay tuned for a new program!” Mettatons voice passed through the speakers and I felt dread since that “new program.” was _us_. Papyrus looked pretty annoyed and voiced as much.

 

“WHAT!!! IT’S USUALLY BETTER THAN THIS! THIS IS JUST A BAD EPISODE!!!” DON’T JUDGE ME!!” Frisk waved her hand in front of her, not wanting the skeleton to be offended. Chara grinned at the notes connected to the dirty sock, and gave Frisk a friendly nudge.

 

‘Let me read it, let me read it!’ She asked excitedly and Frisk gave her a mental hum of approval.

 

‘Ahem.’ She cleared her throat despite the obvious need to do so and her eyes skimmed through the series of notes.

 

‘SANS! PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SOCK!’ Chara replicated Papyrus’s nasally and somewhat high class with ease, in fact it was better than her last imitation. I couldn’t even tell the difference this time, and I was impressed by her skill. She moved on to the next note and I heard gurgling as she adjusted once more.

 

‘ok.’ I don’t know how I can tell she was speaking in lowercase but again she sounded _just_ like sans, her voice deeper and more soothing than the orange and red dressed brother. Chara kept going with a glee and happiness I wasn’t used to from her.

 

‘DON’T PUT IT BACK DOWN! MOVE IT!’ You should have been more specific Paps, you know how lazy sans is. Frisk’s smile grew and she struggled to hold her amusement in, a cute snort letting itself known every couple of seconds.

 

‘ok.’ A single word answer from sans once again.

 

‘YOU MOVED IT TWO INCHES! MOVE IT TO YOUR ROOM!’ Chara’s Papyrus started to crack at this point, and she let out a single cackle before returning to her letter reading. She said sans usual lazy reply of  “no” and moved on.

 

‘AND DON’T BRING IT BACK!’ Chara skipped sans reply. “IT’S STILL HERE!’ It was on the next note that Chara finally broke.

 

‘didn’t you say not to bring it back to my room?’ Chara started to wheeze despite being a ghost. Her laughing was so loud I think Papyrus heard her and he cleared out his ear holes, confused on where the out of breath giggle was coming from.

 

“WHAT’S SO FUNNY HUMAN?” Frisk gestured to the paper with her lips and following her gaze he looked down to the sock. He looked a little frustrated most likely remembering those events.

 

“AH YES, MY BROTHER SEEMS TO TAKE PLEASURE IN FRUSTRATING ME AT EVERY TURN. A REAL LAZYBONES.” I could hear the affection he had for his brother regardless though and I felt a little jealous in a way, that he got along so well with his brother. I took a look at the pet rock this time, curious on what Papyrus would say about it.

 

“THIS IS MY BROTHER’S PET ROCK. HE USUALLY FORGETS TO FEED IT. BUT RECENTLY, JUST SHORTLY BEFORE YOU ARRIVED HE FINALLY TOOK RESPONSIBILITY.” He sounded proud and relieved and it made _me_ worried for Papyrus wondering how much it could have hurt him to see his brother this way.

 

“I HAVEN'T SEEN SANS THIS PROACTIVE…IN A _LONG_ TIME.” Papyrus grew unusually quiet at the end, and Frisk grabbed his mitted up hand and gave it a small squeeze. She gestured with her whole hand to the kitchen and Papyrus brightened.

 

“YOU WANT A LOOK AT THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S CULINARY MASTERPIECES!!” Frisk nodded ahead and I came along with her to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and she looked stumped as she took on the contents of the fridge.

 

‘…It’s half spaghetti and and an empty bag of chips.’ Chara only shook her head in disappointment and I felt a little bad when I realized she couldn’t eat anymore. I looked up to the intimidatingly tall sink that only Papyrus would ever be able to reach. In fact turning to the door to the kitchen I realized I had no idea how he had fit it through the door in the first place.

 

“IMPRESSIVE YES? I INCREASED THE HEIGHT OF MY SINK TO FIT MORE BONES UNDER IT! TAKE A LOOK!” I opened it up to an Annoying Dog chewing a bone and their eyes burst open comically, and I then took a step back in response.

 

“What!?!!” Frisk and Papyrus were of the same mind and the next thing I knew both her and Red were hiding behind me. Red was actively hissing and shaking his wing arms in a threat display. Frisk wasn’t anywhere as aggressive and was more bewildered than anything else. The dog leaped out of the sink and made a run for it.

 

“CATCH THAT MEDDLING MUTT!” I ran after the dog, and despite running over 5 times faster than ingame, the dog still escaped my clutches. I had hoped my previous experiences with dog chasing, before I fell here would be enough but alas it was not to be.

 

“CURSES!!!” The skinny skeleton yelled out and I heard the door to sans room open with a click. In mere seconds sans came of of his room with a trom _bone_ and played his incidental music. I saw a flash of blue magic too and his sock was lifted up into his room.

 

“SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!!!” Papyrus shouted disapprovingly. Then I got a grin on my face when I remembered something from a playthrough.

 

“Frisk, follow me.” I whispered to her and showed her to the stove. She looked at it with interest as the faint and _familiar_ hint of cinnamon entered her nose.

 

“MY BROTHER ALWAYS GOES OUT TO EAT. BUT RECENTLY, HE TRIED ‘BAKING’ SOMETHING. IT WAS LIKE…A QUICHE. BUT FILLED WITH A SUGARY, NON-EGG SUBSTANCE.” Papyrus paused for a moment before continuing his talk. “HOW ABSURD!”

 

‘It’s an empty pie tin.’ Chara sounded a little irritated and I had my suspicions she didn’t approve of the possible relationship sans might have with her mom. Not that _I_ think they’re actually together, but it’ll be fun to mess with her since she doesn’t know what I know. I decided to pick up Frisk by her sides and I walked up the stairs with no signs of strain. I put her down and she pressed her hands against the door to Papyrus’s room.

 

“THAT IS MY ROOM! IF YOU’VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND. WE COULD GO IN…AND HANG OUT LIKE FOUR GOOD FRIENDS.” I was startled as Red managed to jump onto the second floor and landed with a small “thump!” I guess we weren’t the only people who had been enhanced by the ambient magic around here. Papyrus was the next to jump up and politely opened the door for us to pass.

 

“Are those…?” Frisk trailed off, as she looked at a box of bones.

 

“HEY, THOSE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I USED FOR OUR BATTLE. GREAT MEMORIES, HUH? SEEMS LIKE IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY…” Frisk nodded along encouragingly.

 

“EVEN THOUGH IT BASICALLY JUST HAPPENED.”

 

‘He’s not wrong you know.’ Gaster spoke up and frankly I agreed with him.

It has been a _long_ two days since I fell down here. The computer was our next stop and I rubbed my eyes as Papyrus mentioned his negative two followers, and his brother trolling him(not that he knew that). Frisk continued to have fun with Papyrus as she learned about his favorite books and his closet.

 

“I THINK HUMANS MUST HAVE DESCENDED FROM SKELETONS!!!” Gaster gave me nudge and I gave my fading focus back to my friends.

 

“Action figures.” I asked innocuously and Papyrus I saw sweat on his forehead.

 

“A GREAT REFERENCE FOR THEORETICAL BATTLE SCENARIOS.” Frisk nodded sagely while rubbing her chin with her right hand. “HOW DO I HAVE SO MANY? WELL, LET’S JUST THEY’RE FROM…A CHUBBY, SMILING MAN WHO LOVES TO SURPRISE PEOPLE. YEAH! THAT’S RIGHT! SANTA!!!”

 

‘They didn’t have Santa when I fell down here…” Chara complained and scowled and I smirk when I thought of something.

 

‘You know if you had told them about Christmas they would have.” A light bulb seems to turn on in her head and she face palmed.

 

‘You’re right.’ She looked a little miserable and sat in the pirate corner to sulk. Red sat and curled up to her, but to someone who wasn’t us it would just look like he was getting extra comfy. I turned around since I had missed a further conversation and I knew now that we were going to officially “hang out” with Papyrus. I barely heard Papyrus talk about getting a car, which made me imagine him getting the 2020 Tesla Roadster. The next image was him flying he car with magic. _And_ now I’m imagining the wonderful, wonderful technological possibilities of this world’s tech.

 

SpaceX rockets powered by magic instead of liquid methane and solar panels. Less need for doctors with healing magic, and less need to grow crops with Monster food. But then I’m not sure how well their food can actually support a human. We eat it just fine and it gives us energy and heals us, but since we’re made of matter I don’t think it’s actually enough. We might build up a nutrient or vitamin deficiency over time. I wonder if magic can be used to terraform planet’s too, there’s just so much food that magic could bring to the world.

 

“Hello anyone there?” I blushed as everyone in the room stared at me and I hastily apologized to Papyrus.

 

“YOU CAN APOLOGIZE BY STARTING OUR ‘HANG OUT’ FRIEND!!” I nodded and I nearly flinched when I heard the sound of a battle starting.

 

_—Dating Start Plays—_

 

‘ **Hang out start!** ’ So Chara was out of her funk then, that’s good news.

 

“HERE WE ARE, HANGING OUT!!.” Frisk gave a big thumbs up, and Papyrus gave her a sideways look. “I’VE ACTUALLY  NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. BUT DON’T WORRY!!! YOU CAN’T SPELL PREPARED WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!!!” Frisk bounced up in excitement and I couldn’t help being a little happy as well, she was contagious. She tilted her head as the skeleton pulled out a book with a title I couldn’t read too well. He looked ready for anything.

 

“I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANGING OUT GUIDE BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY! WE’RE READY TO HAVE A GOOD TIME!” I waited for step two and wasn’t disappointed.

 

“I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL—“ We both said yes before he couldn’t even finish and he was greatly flattered.

 

“THANK YOU FRIENDS!! WOWIE!!” He gushed with pride and joy, and I couldn’t help but smile openly. “IT’S TIME FOR STEP THREE!” He opened the book and I hear his loud mutterings.

 

“STEP THREE…PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW YOU CARE!” He grew silent as he mulled over the third step in his head.

 

“THE TWO OF YOU ARE WEARING CLOTHING RIGHT NOW!!! AND EARLIER TODAY THE TWO OF YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHES.” He let out a gasp of intense realization.

 

“HAVE THE BOTH OF YOU WANTED TO HANG OUT THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!” A clear giggle rang through the room as Papyrus’s expression shifted to shock.

 

“NO!!! YOUR HANGING OUT SKILLS ARE SUPERIOR!!! YOUR FRIENDSHIP POWER OVERWHELMING!!!” The skeleton’s look shifted to one of Determination.

 

_—Play Dating Fight—_

 

“I HAVEN'T BEEN BESTED YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS…HAVE NEVER BEEN DEFEATED AT HANGING OUT, AND I NEVER WILL!”

 

‘But didn’t he say he’s never done this before?’ Chara asked exasperated but still charmed overall by Papyrus’s kind nature.

 

“I TOO CAN WEAR CLOTHES! IN FACT I ALWAYS WEAR MY ‘SPECIAL’ CLOTHES UNDER MY REGULAR SET!!”

 

“NOW BEHOLD!!” He pulled out of our sight for a moment and with a flash of magic he came back in…

 

Pfft that’s adorable!!! Frisk seemed to agree and she squeed unable to contain her glee at his outfit.  He had basketballs for shoulder guards and a shirt saying cool dude for God’s sake! I decided to be positive about this, since this was the first time I’ve hung out with someone…in a long time…

 

“You look great!” The blue floating friendship chart rose to a higher percentage and he gasped.

 

“A GENUINE COMPLIMENT!!” He exclaimed.

 

“HOWEVER YOU DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE HIDDEN POWER OF THIS OUTFIT!!! THEREFORE WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID!! YOU MUST FIND THE SECRET OF THIS OUTFIT TO ESCALATE THIS HANG OUT!” He denied my compliment and Frisk pounded her little fists at the incoming challenge. I gestured with my hand to his head and she said as much to him. She willed her heart to point to his hat.

 

“MY HAT? MY HAT. MY HAT! NYEH HEH HEH!” He lifted up his hat using his magic and revealing his present.

 

“IT’S A PRESENT I COO—MADE FOR YOU GUYS!!!” He unwrapped it, revealing it to be his signature dish. Frisk looked mildly hungry likely not knowing that the skeleton couldn’t cook.

 

“SPAGHETTI. THAT MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. BUT YOU WOULD BE WRONG!” The atmosphere became more intense and I swear I saw a glint come out of Frisk’s eyes. “THIS AIN'T YOUR PLAIN OL’ PASTA! THIS IS AN ARTISANS WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASK. THEN COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! HUMANS!!! IT’S TIME TO END THIS!! WE CAN NOT GO FURTHER!” Frisk looked horrified once she figured out what Papyrus meant by “aging” and she looked queasy, and it was hilarious until I realized I needed to eat that too.

 

“ **E-eat it or Refuse.** ” Chara had the same expression as Frisk, and I gulped as I looked at the tall skeleton’s smiling face. The both of us took a small bite out of the spaghetti…

 

God bless you sans…

 

I tuned everything out and I could barely hear anything beside knowing that we had been successful.

 

“IS HE ALRIGHT?”

 

“Yeah he’s fine, he’s just…appreciating your masterpieces and thinking about the fun we’ll have with Undyne.”

 

“OH THAT’S GREAT!! A PLAN WILL MAKE THINGS RUN MORE SMOOTHLY!!” Frisk started to pull me, and then grabbed my thumb to activate my phone and input the phone number of Papyrus.

 

‘Perhaps you should a _Void_ my son’s spaghetti until I can improve his skills.”

 

Did…

 

Gaster just make a damn _void_ pun?!

 

‘Yo, earth to Brandon!’ I finally snapped out of my trance as Chara shrieked in my ear and I stumbled as I saw we were inches away from the entrance to the Waterfall. Chara muttered an offended ‘I don’t shriek…”.

 

“We’ve been trying to get you to react for the last 30 minutes but nothing. Heck I bought some food, and saved while you were in that trance.” I shook the fuzz from my mind off, and reacted more effectively to a concerned Frisk by patting her head.

 

“Sorry don’t know what came over me…” Gaster scratched his skull nervously and I gave him a look of suspicion. Our group glared at him, and he sweat under the pressure even though he had no skin.

 

‘He _may_ have had a bad reaction to both my son’s food and my healing magic…’ He trailed off as we saw the eighth fallen child twitch, and Frisk suddenly looked _furious._ I gasped a bit as the angry munchkin pulled Gaster down by his collar and glared at him right into his eye sockets. He shook a bit and even Chara looked a little scared at the sudden enragement of Frisk. It was pretty comical as well, a 4’10 little girl snarling right into the face of a 6’8 slender man looking dude.

 

“ _What_ did you do to him!!!” He flinched and with his shaky left hand, a strong pulse of green was emitted from it. It was barely visible but it _was_ there.

 

“I only wished to help him, it was not my intention to hurt him and I apologize. Frisk reluctantly let him go, and he bowed his head right after. “I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me for my mislapse in judgement.” He looked sorry indeed and Frisk’s expression softened greatly, then she started to sag as her energy left her.

 

“Frisk…?” She looked up at me, and I nearly took a step back at the intensity in her eyes. She slammed right into my leg, and I let her be for the moment, still confused. Chara growled and gave me a flick on the forehead.

 

‘She was worried about you, idiot!’ I rubbed Frisk’s head absentmindedly and she hummed a tune that seemed…familiar. I listened to her quiet humming for a moment, trying to decipher the song until it hit me.

 

That’s His Theme that’s she's humming huh…doesn’t bring back the best of memories since the last time I hummed that I got hit by a Mach speed number nine from space.

 

“I’m sorry?” I phrased that like a question but Frisk only booped me on the noise in response. I crinkled my nose at the unexpected touch and sneezed. She let go of me in slight disgust as I almost sneezed in her face.

 

“Eww!” She yelled out, taking several steps back. I rolled my eyes, and she stuck out her tongue thus ruining the moment we were having.

 

“We should meet up with sans right?” Frisk’s lavender eyes lit up and just as walked out very first steps into Waterfall a voice showed up from behind us.

 

“Yo!” We did a u-turn as an excited Monster Kid waltzed in, nearly tripling over his own two feet. Frisk greeted them, and I heard a whispered “Hi” from an uncharacteristically shy Chara.

 

“Hey MK.” The Kid’s eyes lit up at the nickname I gave him.

 

“Oh my gosh are you guys going to Waterfall to see Undyne too!” I covered my smile with my right arm, and Frisky nodded.

 

“Maybe you’ll get lucky! Man Undyne is the coolest right?”

 

“The Spear of Justice!” I couldn’t help hollering and he jumped up and down happily.

 

“You must be a big fan, if you know her nickname!” I gave him a big thumbs up, and my smile widened. He threw the whole force of his head behind his nod and ran ahead.

 

“Yeah! I’m gonna go up ahead, I wanna see if I can find her. Bye guys!” I heard a few splats as he fell twice and then picked himself up each time. We walked in his unstable footsteps and we started to hear the sound of rushing water that marked the beginning of Waterfall. Time for a new save point for Frisk and me I guess. Would I even remember though? I heard Gaster sigh and I looked at him in puzzlement.

 

‘You would and it would be my fault that you do.’ I don’t know how to respond to that, so I won’t. But we’re here so this should mean we finally get some answers to what the hell is going on. Frisk grabbed hold of the manifestation of her Determination and I heard the signature sound of a save file.

 

‘ **The sound of rushing water fills you with Determination.** ’

 

‘You find Determination in the weirdest things partner.’ I stiffened when Chara said that, and she stopped herself when she said it. Her blush deepened and then paled as if unsure of what to feel. Frisk rose her right eyebrow but didn’t comment on her friends misstep. I heard a snore and my eyes narrowed as the sunglasses monster fell fast asleep. I looked directly into the very dim glow of sans left eye that was staring just an inch or two left from Gaster, who was now silently floating upwards into the air.

 

“Who are you talking to **_buddy._** ” Oh geez sans looks completely _pissed_ and Frisk is shaking like a leaf under his glare. Gaster gave off an odd frown and his form seemed to… _shiver_. I don’t know to describe it as Gaster’s body just felt _off_ in that moment. Then gravity started to affect him again, and his shoes made a clink as he hit the ground. sans eye sockets opened wider than I thought possible out of a bag of bones like him.

 

“GASTER!” sans roared staring directly at his father. He took a step back in shock, and held onto his post to keep himself upright. His breath was shaky and he gradually calmed himself down as his yell seemed to tire him out.

 

“you’re back.” He didn’t look mad at all, only surprised and relieved which was a plus. I don’t think I could deal with it if they had any bad blood between the two of them. But there was a _far_ more important question that needed to be asked.

 

“How the shit are you physical again!!!” Chara was the one to ask, beating by a couple of seconds. Gaster only chuckled and Chara showed her teeth aggressively.

 

“What _am_ I princess?” He asked with an eyebrow ridge raise. The first fallen child pointed to herself and she muttered as she thought about his question.

 

“A Monster?” She sounded unsure and waited anxiously for Gaster’s reply.

 

“Correct—” Chara sighed in relief and Gaster coughed as he was interrupted. “And What is an important difference between Monsters and Humans in the amount of matter they are made of?” The princess finally seemed to understand and let us out a quiet “oh.”. Gaster gazed back at his son and us and came to a decision.

 

“I think we should go to Grillby’s.” Gaster said urgently. I suddenly felt dizzy as a whirlwind of blue and orange surrounded us, and sans eye glow finally simmered down.

 

“I will give you all the answers you seek child. But whether you will like what I tell you, I can not say.” I felt an odd emptiness inside of me at Gaster’s warning.

 

For a split second I felt nothing but the _Void_.

 

***

“Not half bad, dad.” I blinked away the static in my ear and found myself sitting in a chair on the bar of Grillby’s to the left of Frisk, who was to the left to sans, and Gaster was to the right of his son. Everyone but Gaster looked the same as normal, who had exchanged his turtleneck for a large blue cloak with the symbol of the angel on the front. Only his eyes were visible, and they lit up in a blazing orange and blue.

 

“Hey Grillbs.” The aforementioned fire monster lit up and despite his language being the crackling of his flames he was still understandable.

 

“(It’s good to see you again friend, _especially_ since you’ve actually started paying your tab. I see you brought some new friends as well, huh?)” The flame monster had a certain high society type of southern drawl that we pleasing to the ears. From the corner of my eye I saw Frisk move back to the edge of her seat in terror. I held her hand for a moment, and her distant eyes refocused on the present. My eyes looked to be deceiving me, as the entire establishment appeared to be completely empty.

 

“Hi Mr.Grillby! And what to you mean by paying his tab?” The flame monsters fiery hair flared up for a moment in his way of displaying surprise.

 

“(Can you all understand me?)” We all nodded and he looked to be pleased by the development.

 

“(You’re pretty strange even by human standards.)” Frisk and I scratched our  heads sheepishly which was when I gave her a sideways glance. I kept scratching my head, and she continued to mimic me. I rubbed my chin, and she did the same, I raised an eyebrow, she raised an eyebrow.

 

“Are you copying me?” I asked with mirth and she smirked.

 

“Yep.”

 

“Why?” She gave me a sweet smile and my own smirk dropped just a tad.

 

“Again, Why?” I asked with a bit of nervousness. Her smile only widened further

 

“Cus I love you.” My head hit the bar at her statement and my entire body felt like it was on fire at the same time. She patted my head, as I hid away from her gaze and I grumbled.

 

She’s only known me for two fucking days, people don’t get attached that quickly.

 

“Platonically of course.” And thank every god above and below for that. She was also giving me a teasing look I had seen on my mom’s face before so she’s surely messing with me. That was when what we were here for returned to the forefront of my mind and I straightened my back.

 

“Gaster.” I had enough of getting jerked around and _forced_ into an adventure I didn’t ask for. Recruited to fight something capable of destroying entire _universes_ with no chance to decide on my own. He raised his hand silently and whispered to Grillby’s. The fireman nodded and went to the kitchen.

 

“First we should get some sustenance, you young ones need your food to grow you know.” Grillby came back with his Hamburger and fries for each of us, and some kind of Monster drink that looked like Sprite. He placed two ketchup bottles in front of us to add to the fries.

 

(I’m sure you have much to discuss. Call me if you need anything else).” Grillby moves back into the kitchen and was now out of our sight.

 

Now…

 

Let’s get some answers shall we. I railroaded toward Gaster and pointed at him accusingly with a single french/freedom fry. Frisk looked between and sans let out small chuckle.

 

“Why is this happening? What happened to my home!?” My voice started to gradually elevate in volume and Gaster appeared guilty. Was he the one to bring you here and why?

 

“Why did you take me from my home!?” He rose up to meet my angry gaze and his cloak flapped under and unseen wind.

 

“I had no choice!!!” He roared back defensively and I saw _red_. I heard a slight smack as my fist hit something.

 

“Brandon!”

 

“Kid calm down!” I shook my head as a growl passed my lips, a similarly energized Gaster holding his jaw with sans blocking him with his right arm.

 

“Just tell me why!! No excuses!!” Frisk flinched back at my anger, and I did my best to simmer down.

 

“You were being _forgotten_.” My anger faded at Gaster’s reply and sans looked horrified and sickened.

 

“W-what?!” I don’t understand what he means, and Gaster gave me a brief look of pity and sympathy.

 

“You weren’t picked for any special reason, despite the tenderness that _does_ exist in your heart.” I blinked still not comprehending. “You were the first of your world to get hit by that DEMON’S attack.” At my confused look he sighed and pulled out several SOULS. Mine, Frisk, his, and…

 

 _Chara’s_. Unlike our complex hearts, there was only a small sliver left of her red soul, and when I took a closer look I could tell it was gradually healing itself. It wasn’t the same shade as Frisk’s but it was very similar. I could see the core and there was a magenta core that meant either Patience or Integrity. As Chara eyebrows twitched in impatience, I already knew which it was.

 

“Perhaps it is best that I show you more directly, the events that brought us, and our worlds together.” Instead of the blue and orange glow of Gaster’s usual magic, a dark blackness seemed to seep from his body. Frisk grabbed my arm and even Chara looked a little frightened as we were enveloped by the strange magic he was using. As the darkness deepened

 

“ **Now I will show you the dangers that lie in the Void.** ”

 

***

The Void was a place empty of all life, where the laws of reality itself break down. Nothing should exist within it, no being no matter how powerful could withstand the call of the darkness for long. But there are small pockets within where one could survive for a time and not lose themselves. Pieces of other worlds that had been separated over the countless years that have passed since the birth of existence.

 

And in one such place two beings had finished a battle that would determine the fate of their shared worlds. There in the right corner of the white room, stood a being who had been scattered across the infinity of time and space. The melting being held a glowing red object within the palm of his hand. His melted body covered a small lifeless body, and he seemed almost remorseful.

 

“Do not cry monster, I will not hear your pleas for _mercy_. You who killed my sons and my people for your own pleasure. You who took everything from them, even though they gave you love and family.” He spoke to the red object revealed to be a floating heart with contempt. “Your SOUL will belong to me and I will correct your atrocities.”

 

The heart grew brighter until the doctor started to apply pressure onto the heart.

 

“Please stop, we didn’t want to reset!” The Void being stopped his slow crushing of the soul and looked skeptical.

 

“Explain.” His tone left no room for argument and the soul didn’t hesitate.

 

“W-we w-were h-happy with the first timeline.” Gaster didn’t seem to believe, but slowly his expression softened as the child’s voice grew softer and shakier. “I loved them so much! I loved her, him, I loved _everybody_.” The child screamed out.

 

“B-but had to hurt them, again, and again, again!” The human grew hysterical, and was openly sobbing. The soul shook in agony he couldn’t comprehend from what he believed was a monster.

 

“So why?” The silence was deafening until the child found their voice once more.

 

“A-a voice came to me in my dreams…” The skeleton silently followed along. “A-and then I lost c-control of my body.” Both of his eyes began to glow, and the soul shook as a loud banging from _outside_ the small dimension left cracks in it’s fragile walls. “I don’t know what _she_ called herself, she said she needed the both of us for experiments to complete the cycle.”

 

“Both of you?” He looked on in surprise as a second ring sliver of red attached itself to the first soul.

 

“P-please take our souls before it gets here. We just want this to end.” He did as they asked. A bright glow shined over his body, it’s melted state ended returning him to his solid former glory. He fell onto a single knee, and his eyes blazed with Determination.

 

“So much Determination in a single human.” Gaster said in awe and he flinched as _something_ came through a massive crack in the destabilizing room. A single beam of silver light came in at an immense speed and the rejuvenated monster created a red shield that blocked the attack. Within his magic comprised body the souls he had taken shook in terror.

 

 **“You DaRe Take What iS mine dUStling!?”** Gaster eye lights squinted as he did his best to make out the approaching figure. Whoever or whatever it was, wrapped itself in a blood red cloak, only it’s unnaturally glowing eyes visible. His eyes widened and he ducked under the path of a massive black scythe, and blocked the blast of a red-white beam of molten metal. Gaster glowed blue and he summoned _thousands_ of Gaster Blasters, their jaws widened as much as possible and shot beams hotter than an exploding star. The 3587 beams all hit their target, but the whispers in his mind told him he had failed. A whirlwind followed and he was thrown from his dimension. He tried to flee but he was expelled from each of his many rooms time and time again without end.

 

 **“ThERe Is NO stopping me fool!! YoU can stop STOP us, we who are many. Even with mY experiments SOULS you don’t have anywhere _near_ enough DT to stop Me!”**The reaper of death openly boasted and Gaster scowled, the room collapsed under the weight of its power.

 

The wind is howling…

 

Gaster’s eyes widened as _two_ bubbles of reality  came into view, one was his own while the other was different.

 

“I won’t let you destroy this world DEMON!!” He roared in challenge and his three souls glowed with the power of a GOD. He did a check and his Determination came close to faltering.

 

**REAPER- ATK 9,999,999,999 DEF 9,999,999,999**

 

**The end of everything.**

 

_Together with our combined power we can defeat this Demon! Now DI—!_

 

She lifted up her arm and _attacked._ He dodged it at the last millisecond and screamed as the attack made contact with the two bubbles. His own world was the first to go, lighting ablaze. In an instant thousands of galaxies were swallowed up by the red glow of Determination, in less than a second his world was ERASED. The other world deteriorated far slower and he heard a strange distorted scream as a 3 meter diameter bubble was ripped out of it.

 

“ **WhAT!!”** The other dimensional beings silver eyes lit up like the sun, and she raced toward the small bubble approaching the unaware doctor, still in shock with the loss of his world. The doctor was cut in half, but before the final blow could be struck a blackish shape whipped the Reaper away from its prey. A lightning fast beam of purplish energy struck the cosmic being head on and it was sent back thousands of meters.

 

 _What is this pressure?_ Gaster pondered, as he slowly fell apart.

 

The trembling doctor stuck his hand into the collapsing bubble and pulled out a writhing human SOUL, the purple heart slowly succumbing to the power of the Void. Gaster turned to thank the new entity, and suddenly started to choke as the shadowy kite like creature wrapped its appendages around the doctor and squeezed.

 

“What are you doing?!” The monster wheezed as the kite lit up revealing a strange image on its equivalent of a belly.

 

 **“I have need of your assistance Monster.”** Gaster nodded desperately. **“These worlds have been damaged irreparably, with these human SOULS you have enough Determination to overwhelm that lowly creature’s control over the timeline. _My_ Determination should complete the process.”**

 

“Process?” The Doctor asked.

 

 **“One final run, will be completed. Then you will destroy the RESET once and for all. However the worldline must be reassured with the three of you as my agents, and the eighth fallen human as an agent of the light. You will understand soon enough.”** The doctor let out a shout, as the strange spirit like entity lifted him and the unknown weakened bubble up, he also gathered the shards of Gaster’s universe and with a slam of his tentacle began a RESET.

 

Gaster reached out as a larger incoming reality impacted with his dissolving body, and the damage to the two worlds would soon come undone as they were absorbed by the third bubble. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the retreating being flick what looked like a monster soul into his new homeworld.

 

**“I must reawaken my sister and end the cycle.”**

 

“W-wait.” The entity titled its body toward the monster and waited. “Just _who_ are you?” Gaster asked, his curiosity freeing itself from the cage of his mind.

 

**“I can not tell you who or _what_ I am just yet. But I’m sure we’ll meet again doctor.”**

 

The doctor could no longer ask any questions as his mouth melted away. He could not scream and he felt the two and one tenths human souls within him separate from his damaged body. He felt the timeline _snap_ back into place, but he knew that something was _different._ The cries of the two red souls faded away, and he reeled back in shock as their memories were also reset. The other soul drifted away, and he was pulled along for the ride.

 

 _What is this?_ It did not take him long to realize the situation as he fell down. His goopy body slowly reassembled itself, and he gasped as he watched his world _change_. The history of his world was now different, and there was nothing he could do. As he fell past the outer atmospheric boundary of his world, he noticed two others falling. The second red soul, and the purple soul falling alongside him into the unknown. The small child had been reduced to a ghost, yet the purple child still had his entire physical form. _Not not a child, more a young adult based on my knowledge of humans._ He felt a strange connection with the human, and vowed to assist him.


	5. Chapter Five: Waterfall and the Spear of Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've got this, a two part chapter, and then another chapter on top that to post after this. I hope someone can provide some extra feedback on the chapters in the comments down below.

**Chapter Five: Waterfall and the Spear of Justice**

…

…

…

I really have nothing to say, and neither does Frisk based on the look on her face. sans seems to have had an epiphany of some sort, when we saw that soul get thrown in but nothing else can be seen showing on his face. There was only one thing I could think of.

 

“So you’re Determination and Integrity right?” Chara gave me a look as if I was stupid but nodded anyway.

 

“So that means you can manipulate gravity like sans and Papyrus.” Chara actually looked pensive for a moment and I knew I needed to needle Gaster for more questions.

 

“You still don’t know what that thing really is right.?” sans shook his head at my question and I frowned. That made me want more answers though.

 

“And how did you know that _reaper_ was possessing them?” The son of Gaster stood stock still, and then sighed.

 

“because it told me in the previous timeline. boasting about how we would all soon be dust in the stellar wind.”

 

I feel like I’ve heard that line before…

 

“Actually now that I think about, how accurate is the whole ATK and DEF deal?” Gaster and sans both gave each other a look, then with their right hands gave us a so-so gesture.

 

Well then…that was pretty much useless then. I decided to finish my lunch, and I chucked in amusement as Frisk simply shoveled the food in with no regard or manners. A thought quickly killed that amusement and the grip on my burger tightened. When was the last time she ate before falling into the Underground?

 

We took a break for a few minutes to finish what we were eating. My hands shook a bit and I patted Frisk’s head. She finished off the last bite, her expression was still odd, since monster food is _really_ weird. The both of us carefully dropped down from the very high seats, we waved goodbye to Grillby. sans eye glowed and we took a small shortcut back to Waterfall. I could no longer see Gaster, and for a moment I thought he was left behind.

 

‘Behind you.’

 

Oh shit! I turned around in fright, and I groaned as a smug Gaster gave me a look of amusement. I asked him why he had turned invisible again, as the other monster couldn’t seem to see him.

 

‘It is for the best, we can’t have rumors spread of an unknown monster walking about with humans.’ I nodded in agreement, since that might change things too much and could make everything more difficult. I walked next to sans sentry station to save, as Frisk was too busy chatting with the skeleton to do so. I tapped Frisk’s shoulder and gestured with my head to go.

 

“I think we should get going then, sans.” sans ruffled the kid’s head and her lips turned upwards in happiness.

 

***

“I think those rocks are Pumice.” Frisk informed me as we dodged the rocks. I had already told her we needed to go behind the waterfall for an item and she seemed okay with that. Okay one, two, and three! The water blocked our vision for a moment. In the dirt I saw an old dusty tutu, a good piece of armor for Frisk. I passed it to her and she enthusiastically put it on.

 

‘It looks good.’ Chara complimented Frisk, who blushed in response and muttered a stuttery “thank you” that warmed my heart. My gaze drifted from Frisk’s adorableness to the glowing mushrooms, and I gave one a good press. The mushroom squeaked and turned off it’s light. Frisk tried to do the same but I grabbed her by her armpits and walked us back through the waterfall and onto the right path.

 

“Hey!” I shushed her and she quickly quieted down as we approached the tall grass. Her loud footsteps became silent as she changed her stance, and I followed shortly after. Frisk called Papyrus anxiously, and she clung closer as he didn’t answer. The grass quickly covered us, and we kept quiet as we saw the silhouette of Undyne. A shadowed Papyrus approached the 8 foot tall knight, and we waited with a bated breath.

 

“H…HI, UNDYNE! I’M HERE WITH MY REPORT…” He sounded nervous.

 

“UHHH… REGARDING THOSE HUMANS I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER…” I couldn’t hear Undyne’s reply under her armor and across the small river.

 

“HUH! DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!” Our tall skeleton friend defended himself.

 

“WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM? W-W-WELL. NO. I TRIED VERY HARD BUT IN THE END I FAILED.” Papyrus stiffens up in shock as the warrior muttered something.

 

“W-Wait YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN’S SOULS YOURSELF? B-BUT UNDYNE YOU DON’T HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE…” He trailed off at his friend’s glare.

 

“I UNDERSTAND. I’LL HELP YOU ANYWAY I CAN.” He replied despondently and walked away. I gestured for Frisk to move carefully. We froze as the grass rustled loudly. I heard the signature sound of a spear being summoned, as well as the distant blue glow of her magic. We held our breath for almost a minute, and breathed a loud sigh of relief as her metallic boot steps faded out into the distance. We tiptoed out of the grass and I felt my heart beating a mile a minute as my nerves were pretty frayed.

 

“Yo!”

 

Crap! Frisk leaped a dozen meters into the air, besting her previous record jumps and I caught her with a thump. Frisk gave the sheepish monster a glare, and I heard them say “sorry” before continuing where he had been cut off.

 

“Sorry, but did you see the way she was looking at you two…? That…was AWESOME! I’m SOOO jealous!” Frisk gave him a calming smile, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Frisk was _not_ happy, but she clearly didn’t plan to get revenge just yet.

 

“What’d you do to get her attention…? Ha ha! Let’s go watch her beat up some bad guys!” Her anger was replaced by terror and she gripped my arms tightly. Monster Mid walked off, with a brief pause to keep their balance and leaving us alone. Frisk gripped the yellow star with her left.

 

‘ **A feeling of dread hangs over you. But you stay Determined.** ’ Frisk’s put on her game face and we moved on. We stopped just short of a river streaming into a small waterfall. I grabbed up the magic flowers amd in a march we placed them down one by one. They bloomed to form a bridge and we walked across it with ease. Frisk pulled up in front of me to cross the next bridge.

 

Let's cross that br—woah!” Frisk took a step back as _Aaron_ showed up. Gaster rose up, and sat in a lotus position to watch. I turned to face the weird muscular seahorse monster.

 

“ **Aaron flexes in!** ” Frisk looked at the options and after some internal deliberation, selected the flex option. I gave her a thumbs up and she started, she pulled back her sleeves and _flexed_.

 

“ **You flex, Aaron flexes twice as hard.** ”

 

“Flexing contest? OK, flex more ; )” I shivered as he somehow managed to pronounce something that’s isn’t actually a word. Frisk eyes snapped open, her purple eyes filled with a disturbed confusion. Aaron’s white flexing arm attacks quickly distracted the both of us, and we were forced to dodge. The attacks weren’t particularly fast, so it was fairly easy. The attack wave stopped, and Frisk flexed even harder. I could see the veins on Aaron’s arms and Chara’s let out her tongue in disgust.

 

‘Gross.’ Aaron opened his mouth once more to talk.

 

“Nice!! I won’t lose tho ; )”

 

My eyes burn…

 

We pretty just sped up side steps to avoid his attacks, and we weren’t hit even once. Frisk gets a determined look on her face and flex even harder.

 

“ **You flex. Aaron flexes very hard. He flexes himself out of the room!** ” Chara said in bewilderment as the sea horse’s muscles popped and he flew out of the room like a popped balloon. I already knew what to do and decided to ask Frisk what she wanted to do first.

 

“Uh Frisk in this part, we can build a bridge to get some food on the lower river, and then form a bridge to get out. Do you want to get the quiche or just go?” Frisk pointed to the lower river, but stopped me.

 

“Could I do this one?” I nodded hesitantly, and Gaster and Red accompanied her instead of Chara. I bounced on my feet with some nervousness as I was left alone with the young brown haired girl. You know now that I’m taking a close look, I would say her hair is more a reddish-brown than just brown like Frisk’s hair.

 

Hmm…

 

What to say, what to say? Uh, I’ve got no—

 

‘SOO, um how’s your day been going?’ Chara asked with an awkward and robotic tone, and I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead.

 

“Good, good, and you?” She seemed to be chewing on her words, and I scratched my beard as the awkwardness intensified.

 

“It’s fine…” Chara sounded unsure and I tried to think of something to say.

 

“Uh your world is pretty different now huh?” She nodded absently, and I sighed while rubbing the back of my neck. She coughed and I glanced away.

 

“I never thought I would get to see a dinosaur in real life you know.” I nodded in agreement. “Which was actually kind of cool, even if one almost killed us.” I decided to just get to know Chara a bit better.

 

‘Um so you like dinosaurs then?’ Her eyes seemed to light up, and my own spirits lifted in hope. I stood stock still as she seemingly teleported to only inches away from my face. My lips raised up into a small smile at her enthusiasm, and she leaned back. Her excitement didn’t drop for a second though, and I internally cheered as I found a topic we both shared an interest in.

 

‘Like dinosaurs, I _love_ dinosaurs!’ She shouted out, and I couldn’t help but try to ruffle her hair. I was surprised as for a brief moment I could feel her soft hair under my hand, before it faded out of existence and it ran through air again. Chara’s red eyes had opened wide in astonishment, and my right hand dropped to my side.

 

‘Um, what about dinosaurs do you like?’ I already realized what was happening, she seemed to be gradually returning to life. I focused for a moment, and tried to feel out her soul. I frowned when I failed, and decided to try it another time.

 

‘Oh well…’ Chara started up.

 

‘I just think they’re really cool. There’s just nothing as majestic and as big as them anywhere in the world. I _love_ the armored ones like Ankylosaurus , with their clubs for tails and their derpy faces. Triceratops with their horns and frills! T.rex is awesome, you know they’ve got some of the strongest bite forces of all animals right?” I nodded along, and she kept going. “Raptors  are really cool with their claws and their big brains, I think they look cool with feathers. Like giant ground hawks. Dinosaur are just…awesome!” She let out a face splitting grin, and her eyes practically sparkled with a pure joy. I said nothing, and her face turned a bright red. I swear I saw steam come out of her ears, and she muttered an apology.

 

‘Hey, don’t sweat it I think it’s great that you have such a passion in such fascinating creatures.’ I reassured her.

 

I can’t believe I said fascinating out loud…

 

‘O-okay.” She replied, and she looked like she wanted to ask me about something.

 

‘So you know a lot about dinosaurs ri—’ Frisk’s footsteps stalled any further conversations. I whispered to Chara, promising to tell her some of what I know about the various extinct archosaur species. Frisk walked toward us with a new Quiche stored in her arms, before she put it away in her pocket dimension.

 

“Hey!” She was happy to see us and we both waved back to her and Gaster. I turned around to press the bell, and with a flash of light a new set of bridge seeds appeared. After around a minute I finished assembling our bridge to the next area. We walked through the opening to the Wishing Room.

 

‘I haven't been here in a _long_ time.’ Chara stated as we passed by the two initial echo flowers. I hadn't noticed before, but it was really peaceful here, the drip drop of flowing water as well as the distant whispers of echo flowers creating a sort of soundtrack. It resembled the actual soundtrack greatly, but it was quieter and more random. I turned to speak openly to Frisk but when I moved she drew further away.

 

“What’s wrong?” Her nose curled in and she pointed to my armpits.

 

“You smell really bad.” Frisk sounded funny as she pinched her nose to block the smell, and I gave her a look of dismay. Gaster nodded sagely and I sagged as the scientist agreed with her

 

“Woshua wash the stink away!” That was all the warning I had as a living bathtub/washing machine pounced.

 

“Why me?!”

 

***

 

I limped just a bit, but at least I was squeaky clean now. I was half listening as Frisk listened to the recordings of the echo flowers and she seemed a little sad. I also knew what was soon coming up, would make her and me feel worse. Chara looked grave, especially as Frisk pointed to them wanting a translation. I wouldn't be much help since I had only played the game a few times before all of this.

 

‘Fine Frisk, don't say I didn't warn you.’ Chara cleared her throat before starting.

 

‘ **The War of Humans and Monsters.** ’ Frisk’s eyes widened at the title, and she gave me a look I couldn't identify. We walked along and Chara read at the same time.

 

‘ **Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the SOUL of nearly every monster…** ’ Chara paused to take a breath.

 

‘ **Just to equal the power of a single human SOUL.** ’ Frisk did not seem to understand, and I moved her along, to reach the next text.

 

“Do we really need to know this.” Frisk fiercely nodded

 

“Maybe you already know this, but I need to see this for myself.” She sounded a little shaky but was still sure of herself.

 

‘ **But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their SOUL. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death.** ” Frisk formed the shape of a star with her hands and I sadly nodded to her. She grimaced and kept on.

 

‘ **If a monster defeats a human, they can take its SOUL. A monster with a human SOUL… A horrible beast with unfathomable power.** ’ Chara stopped, and I tried to grab her shoulder as she curled up in a ball. The image on the last text, seemed hauntingly familiar but I didn't know why.

 

“We need to start running.” Frisk only looked bewildered at my lack of care, and as Chara grew more solid, I started to rub her back hoping it would help.

 

“Once we get to the next bridge, Undyne’s gonna start chucking giant magic spears at us.” Frisk’s lips quivered and I gave her a brief hug. She seemed to relish in it, and then put her game face on.

 

Which was her -_- face as usual. Still have no idea how I managed to think but I’ll just go with _magic_ of course. I grabbed Frisk’s hand and we gently placed our feet onto the floating board. I felt _something_ keeping us in place, and it moved in a straight line allowing us to pass the large body of water in our way.

 

I prepped myself to run, lagging behind Frisk. My hands felt sweaty, as we reached the pillars forming various shadows. I saw a glimmer of blue and dragged Frisk as I jumped a meter forward, narrowly avoiding a spear longer than Toriel was tall.

 

“RUN!!” I felt a burst of energy and we had to weave out of the way of the barrage of attacks. I managed to block an attack with my fist, diverting it from piercing through Frisk’s head. The pillars were quickly left behind and I tackled Frisk into the tall grass. We tumbled and I covered Frisk’s mouth just to be on the safe side. I watched a few spears pass overhead and kept my own mouth shut. I shivered as Undyne’s loud footsteps came ever closer, and I hoped to any deity that events would still follow the script. She was only a small distance away, and as she brought her fist down I sighed in relief. Instead of us it was an excited Monster Kid. She gently put him down and walked away in frustration. I grabbed a petrified Frisk, who quickly shook out her stupor and dragged me out of the tall grass with her unnatural strength.

 

That, or I’m so unfit that a 12 year old girl can rival or surpass me in physical capability. I planted my feet onto the ground, as Monster Kid rushed to greet us.

 

“Yo… did you see that? Undyne just TOUCHED ME! I’m never washing my face ever again.” Frisk looked was again taken aback at Monster Kid’s rampant fanboyism but she clearly thought it was cute, looking at MK like a tiny kitten.

 

“Man, are you guys unlucky. If you were standing just a LITTLE bit to the right…!” Both our faces were surely expressing faces of fear and worry.

 

“Yo, don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll see her again!” Monster Kid reassured us for the wrong reasons, and I wrapped my arms around my chest as he walked off. He stopped short of tripping as a very _faint_ blue glow kept him upright. I turned thinking the doctor was being helpful, but was pleasantly surprised as Chara strained her hand. Monster Kid skipped off without a care in the world. Frisk gave her a smug look and heard a faint “Idiot.” as she floated by.

 

‘Gaster?’

 

‘Yes young man?’ I had at least two questions for him, as we sauntered along to the checkpoint.

 

‘I have two questions. One how did I block Undyne’s attack. Two are the four of us connected to keep control of the timeline?’

 

‘For the first question you formed a powerful barrier of soul energy known as aura, blocking her attack. Much like the energy shields from those uh ‘Halo’ games you humans invented. As for the second question you would be correct.’ Chara seemed a little uncomfortable at the last question, and I only blinked in response unsure of her reasoning.

 

“Um aura?” I asked still wanting to know more, Gaster smiled at my question and continued onward.

 

“Yes an _aura_ , the light of a humans souls, a little known fact is that human bodies are actually _less_ durable than monster ones. But to compensate their SOUL infuses their body with magical energy, and generates a protective barrier. I don’t believe that to be the limit of what they can do, but I was very young when the war began in and my knowledge of human magic was still incomplete at that time.” I thanked him quietly for the explanation, and we walked up to a new save point.

 

“Is…that cheese?” Frisk spoke up in question, noticing a pink crystal on a table and surely enough there was a piece of cheese that acted as it’s core.

 

‘ **This cheese has been around so long, a magic crystal has formed around it.** ’ Frisk leaned down and waved hello to the mouse, and it cutely squeaked in greeting before returning to their mouse hole. She turned to the yellow star next, and I felt a shiver as we saved.

 

‘ **Knowing the mouse might one day extract the cheese from the Magic crystal. It fills you with Determination.** ’

 

Frisk, you little weirdo…

 

Right, oh there’s sans with his telescope. Frisk skipped along, her ballet skirt bouncing with her movements.

 

“Hey sans, _water_ you doing here in Waterfall.” Chara groaned at the pun, and I gave her a small flick on the nose.

 

“Nothing much buddy, just thinking of setting up a telescope business. Normally it would be 50,000G but just for the two of you it’ll be for free.” I gestured to Frisk and her eyes shined. I covered my mouth to keep my snicker in as Frisk’s rushed over to use it, but using it left her with a frown of frustration.

 

“It doesn’t work.” She remove her right eye from the telescope and I couldn’t hold back anymore.

 

“Snrk.” I started to cough as I swallowed air, with Frisk placing her hand on her hips while looking like a half assed raccoon costume wearer.

 

‘Oh my god I can’t breathe!’ Chara fell on her butt and snickered maliciously while Frisk pouted. She suddenly froze and placed her left hand on her right, her hand coming away with the paint on the telescope. She gave us a glare, and stomped her way through the nice cream guys entrance.

 

“You stay right over there, while I get some Nice Cream _only_ for  _me_! And I know that because I can smell it from here!” Her little steps of anger faded away and I continued to chuckle at her expense. I turned and stumbled as I bumped into a small blob monster, it’s beady eyes staring into my soul. The small monster spoke up and I heard a low and wispy voice.

 

“What’s a star?” I stood my ground, not wanting to provoke it by mistake.

 

“Can you touch it? Can you eat it?” I shrugged.

 

“Can you kill it?” If you throw another star at it, maybe.

 

“Are you a star?”

 

What is _wrong_ with that monster?! The short monster fell silent and leaned back against the wall of the tunnel we were in. Frisk came out happily and smugly licking a Nice Cream cone. She almost went up the path, before I gently maneuvered her down to the bridge path.

 

Wait, Papyrus never called so how did Undyne know what we looked like?

 

“Frisk…” She gave me a nod as she wiggled her hips to two Moldsmals who stopped their attacks and left with happy looking jiggles.  She kept a steady walking pace in front of me.

 

“Did Papyrus call you?” She broke out into a sweat and I groaned at her oversight. Also it seems Gaster has vanished into thin air so good news everyone.

 

‘I am assuring our victory by obtaining a sufficient amount of currency, and _yes_ it is real gold that we use.’

 

Never mind…at least we might be able to put something on that will serve as better protection than a bandana, a bow, and a ballet skirt. One of Frisk’s pockets started to vibrate and she pulled out her ringing block phone.

 

“HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!! REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES? WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW. HER OPINION ON THE TWO OF YOU IS RATHER… MURDERY! BUT I BET YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY! AND SINCE YOU KNEW. I TOLD HER WHAT YOU TOLD ME YOU GUYS WERE WEARING! A DUSTY TUTU AND OLD GLOVES! I KNEW YOU WOULD CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES AFTER SUCH A SUSPICIOUS QUESTION! THIS WAY THE BOTH OF YOU ARE SAFE AND I DIDN’T LIE!! BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!!!” A click of the phone signaled the calls end.

 

“So what have we learned today here Frisk?” She drooped, and the telltale signs of embarrassment were self evident.

 

“To inform you of a potentially dangerous situation when necessary?” I tapped her shoulder as an answer and we moved on. We left the echo flowers be, and I stopped a sigh from coming out as we faced a new ancient text. Chars started up her reading, since she was the only one around able to understand the old text.

 

‘ **The power to take their SOULS. This the power that humans feared.** ’ I moved in front of Frisk to guard her, as we entered a water filled room with one Olympic sized pool of water, bigger even.

 

‘What in the _hell_ is that!’ Chara girlishly shrieked as several yellow tentacle lifted out of the water high into the air. Once we stepped another few meters, _he_ appeared slowly lifting his hefty body out the pool.

 

Onionsan, the weird octopus with an onion shaped head and an animesque face. Frisk’s head jerked up to look at the monsters huge eyes.

 

“Hey there…there…” That _voice_. “Noticed you were…Here…. I’m Onionsan!” He derpily greeted us, and Chara had no good things to say, muttering a number of passive aggressive comments under her breath.

 

“Oktopus!” Frisk loudly whispered in a weirded out awe.

 

“Onionsan, y’ hear!” We waved politely but swiftly shuffled along, hoping to get a 100 feet between us and him.

 

“You’re visiting Waterfall, huh! It’s great here, huh! You love it, huh!” He was totally lying to himself.

 

“Yeah! Me too! It’s my Big Favorite!” Frisk only took a single look at his expression and knew what he really felt. We kept at our constant speed walk, and Onionsan followed us. We stopped as he buried his face under the water in light depression.

 

“Even though, the water’s getting so shallow here. I, have to sit down all the time., but. He-hey that’s OK! It beats moving to the city! And living in a crowded aquarium! Like all my friends did!” He did a little sideways stare, and I could only sympathize deeply with his crippling loneliness. We took three more steps and let him vent some more.

 

“And the aquarium’s full, a-anyway, so, even if I wanted to, I… That’s okay though, y’ hear!” He did his best to take being happy and my fist curled up in slight anger.

 

“That’s okay though, y’ hear! Undyne’s gonna fix everything, y’ hear! I’m gonna get out of here and live in the ocean! Y’ hear!”

 

God if I hear Y’ hear just one more time! We reached the end of the room and Onionsan stopped knowing he could not go any further.

 

“Hey… there… That’s the end of this room. I’ll see you around! Have a good time!” He sucked in a breath of air.

 

“In Waterfalllllllll…” I missed the rest as we left the room behind, not wanting to stay the entire time. Just as we passed by a small curtain of water on our left however, we bumped into Shyren.

 

“She was in the corner, yet we found her anyway huh.” Frisk already knew what to do and started to hum a funky tune. We avoided the weak music attacks, and the song was clearly to Frisk’s liking as she shuffled along to it. Frisk pushed me forward and with some difficulty I managed to hum myself, displacing Frisk for a moment. Frisk’s confidence dropped as a small concert suddenly emerged enjoying our music. We barely had to move at all, our hearts were thrumming with the beat of the music being played with Shyren’s magic.

 

“ **Is Sans selling tickets made out of toilet paper?** ’ And there at the start of the crowd, sans was in fact selling tickets for about 40G if I saw the small sign right. We both hummed at the same time, though Frisk overshadowed me, her skills being impeccable. She danced around at the same time adding to the spectacle.

 

But as we grew more famous…

 

The pressure became too much, and our band slowly drifted apart. We were forced to bid Shyren farewells, onto our own journeys.

 

‘Ahem.’ Gaster was back into the picture, and he passed us…

 

That’s a lot of gold…

 

_9999G_

 

“Hey!” I cried out indignantly as the skeleton pushed us along. He read us the tale of the Monsters instead.

 

‘ **This power has no counter. Indeed, a human can not take a monster SOUL. When a monster dies, its SOUL disappears. And an incredible power would be needed to take the SOUL of a living monster.** ’ Indeed, I guess you could say that Flowey _grew_ into that power didn’t he. He _goat_ the power through hard _wood_ and De _tree_ ination, only a human willing to take _Frisks_ could take him down.

 

‘ **There is only one exception. The SOUL of a special type of monster called a ‘Boss Monster.’ A Boss Monster’s SOUL is strong enough to persist after death… if only for a few moments. A human could absorb this SOUL. But this has never happened. And now it never will.** ’ The finality in Gaster’s tone made Frisk uneasy. Frisk asked me to wait here, and she went up ahead. A minute later she came back with an umbrella and gave it me.

 

I already knew what she was up to and followed her into the treasure room. I closed my eyes as I listened to the distant tunes of the music box. Chara was humming it, with a strong sense of nostalgia. Frisk rushed to the piano and with a honed practice played the tune on the piano. A doorway opened and she she smiled, cracking her knuckles and then kissing them in appreciation.

 

‘ **It’s a legendary artifact.** ’ Chara gasped in wonder.

 

“ **So will you take it or leave it?** ’ Frisk immediately went for the thieving of a precious artifact. Frisk could not place the orb in her pocket dimension.

 

“You have too many dogs?” Chara’s narrator voice stopped in complete bewilderment. Frisk opened up her pockets, and staring right back at her…was the goddamn Annoying Dog(!)

 

_–Play Dogsong—_

 

The little white dog leapt from its hiding spot and absorbed the artifact, taking the power for its own potentially nefarious uses. It phased through the wall like a ghost, breaking all the rules of a dog. Red who I had just begun to notice rushed at the wall, cracking it with the immense force of his kick. I turned to see Frisk in a terrified fetal position. I picked her up, and she clung to my back like a koala or a baby chimp. The sheer shock had broken her and with my free right hand I blocked the incoming rain with the umbrella. I gave Red a nod, and he nodded back.

 

“So where have you been?” He pointed his snout to Gaster.

 

“Ahh.” That explains a few things, he must have helped Gaster with preparing us, and with the money we had we could buy the overpowered Temmie armor. The rain dropped down hard, and Frisk suddenly went limp. I heard her quiet snoring and gave Red a curious look. He looked frustrated until Gaster whispered in his ear. From an unseen pocket, he passed what looked suspiciously like the dog collar from _Up_ , Red clumsily put it on, and a high pitched cough from Red alerted me.

 

“Sup.” OK Gaster you’re total bullshit with your inventions now.

 

“Uh _hey_ Red?” I greeted him awkwardly and he only chuffed and gave me an amused look. I had to twist my hand back to reposition Frisk so her feet wouldn’t brush on the ground and trip me up. He gave me a playful nip and I yelped as it hit my sensitive skin.

 

“STOP!” He only snickered and I glowered.

 

“Hello Stop.”  No please no, don’t do this to me.

 

“I’m Red.”

 

Urgh… just why?

 

“Hey dude!” Sitting off in less rainy part of the path was Monster Kid. I waggled my umbrella and he bounded forward taking my right side, versus Red on my left side.

 

“It’s pretty hard to hold an umbrella when you don’t have arms you know?” Red chuckled under his breath, and MK looked a little taken aback.

 

“Woah you can talk!?” Red nodded and pointed to her collar.

 

“Never seen a monster like you around here.”

 

“Not a monster.” Red replied and MK looked wary but still hopeful.

 

“Are you a human then?” He shook his head and the young monster perked up.

 

“What are you then?” Monster Kid asked curiously and Red with a slap of his tail made me the center of attention.

 

“Oh well, he’s a being from the Surface, a race of bird like animals who—.” I whispered “rule” and he nodded. “Rule some parts of the surface, since there aren’t as many humans as there use to be.” Frisk mumbled some nonsense in her sleep and I smiled lightly.

 

“Yes when we are free, it’s unlikely that you will see any humans for many miles around.” Red stated with certainty and we slowly approached the end of this corridor, it dropping to a new one southward.

 

“You guys think Undyne is cool right?” MK looked uncertain of the current path of the conversation and Red nodded at the kids question. He brightened up and grinned at the raptor of unknown age. “She’s able to beat up the bad guys and always wins!”

 

“Man if _I_ was human, I would wet the bed knowing she’s gonna get me.” Red let out a low growl and started to prod Frisk back into the waking world. She groaned and only buried her head into my neck.

 

“Is this a habit of hers?” I asked Red, being that he should know her the best out of the three of us(five with Chara and Gaster).

 

“She often clung to her parents when she was younger, it would make sense she would do it you.” He replied, snapping his jaw as a small surface lizard crossed his path.

 

“How so?” I asked him, And Frisk finally woke up but continued to hang onto her new perch. Only reason I didn’t drop her off was because she seemed as light as a feather to me. This despite being only a few inches shorter than me, and maybe 30 or 40 pounds lighter, or 13.5 to 18 kilograms I suppose.

 

“You and Leeroy _are_ about the same height.” Huh, I guess that makes sense…

 

Wait Frisk’s dad’s name is Leeroy?!

 

“Uh…” The small raptor stopped me, and gestured to a Monster Kid who looked lost. The young monster perked up as Frisk fully woke up, and she whispered a happy hello to him. They started their own conversation and Chara asked questions through Frisk, not wanting to speak out loud.

 

“Now we can talk like adults.” Not sure about being an _adult_ yet, but okay. The children's conversation became background noise as I decided to learn more about Red, as well as Frisk through his eyes.

 

“Now as for his name, that’s simply a nickname I gave him from when he was still a young man. Just how old is this tiny raptor? I examined him, and I could more clearly that he wasn’t a young animal. He had a small scar on his black scaled snout, his feathers were replaced by bare skin in some small patches where he had to have received a lot of damage from I don’t know what. There was a strong amount of confidence in his walk, that was a little comical to see from a being the size and mass of a toddler.

 

“I’m 84 years old kid.” He’s older than my entire family, but far more fit. The reasons are obvious though, this Earth despite its beauty is a colder mistress than my own planet.

 

“I’ve known her parents since they the both of them were still growing in their respective mother’s wombs and kept in touch with them and Frisk until they…passed.” I placed my hand on his head to comfort him, and he quietly thanked me.

 

“An old man like me does not need pity young one, though I know you do not pity me as much as most. You’re an emotionally closed off human” I withdrew my hand out of discomfort. I felt Frisk drop off my back, and she walked side by side with Kid despite the raindrops hitting her.

 

Not sure feeling no pity at all, would be the right word for it… but then I was never the most emphatic person on the planet. I would always read in the news, about how other suffer and feel _something_ but I would never try and do anything about it. I always distanced myself from others, from my friends and family. I always just wanted to _do_ something, but I never did…

 

I just couldn’t motivate myself to ever do anything, I barely managed to put more than a minimum effort into anything I did. I always just shambled about through life, researching topics and learning but never doing anything _useful_ with them. I always fantasized but never accomplished anything of worth, and anything I did make was garbage…

 

How could someone like _me_ ever help someone like them, like Frisk, like all the good monsters of the Underground.

 

“Boy?” I stared down into the golden eye of a concerned Red, and sighed.

 

“Please just… go on.” I pleaded and he gave me a look that made me uncomfortable. He sighed bitterly and cleared his throat to continue.

 

“I knew her grandmother when she came here on a half-baked fusion jet about 40 something years ago. An odd and a surprisingly greedy young one, she came here to find Gold in the legendary mountain of Monsters.”

 

That’s oddly immoral for a relative of Frisk but then again, that isn’t saying much with how _monstrous_ her aunt and uncle were.

 

“Frisk _and_ Chara are basically the epitome of of Disney princesses aren’t they?”

 

“What’s Disney?” Chara looked horrified at Frisk’s question and and I heard her mutter death threats against her aunt and uncle. Oh _yeah_ Chara doesn't know they’re both very, very dead. Six feet under, kicked the bucket, fallen down, etcetera. I leaned down to hear Red say one more thing as we left the rain, and reached the cliff side with that view of the castle.

 

“I hope you keep her safe. It would be awful for an old man like myself to be left all alone in the night.”

 

***

A strong breeze chilled me to the core, despite my robes. Out in the distance directly in front of us lay the end of our journey. The huge castle rivaled the old medieval castles of Europe in its size and splendor. It was dark, and if anyone was watching us they would only see us as faceless shadows. I closed the umbrella and carried it with my right. We paused for a brief moment taking in the lovely view of New Home. Red seemed fascinated by the castle, and eager to move on, so we did. We left the cliff side, and as the rain picked up again I placed the umbrella in it’s storage area.

 

“That’s… a tall ledge.” Frisk stated, the ledge was well over my own height and with how little control we had over our powers. Trying to jump it had a 50/50 chance of potentially killing us by cracking our skulls on the rocky ceiling. I would rather not take the chance.

 

“Hey you guys want to reach Undyne right?” Frisk nodded, and he gently nudged her and indicated his head and shoulders with his eyes. “Climb on my shoulders to get up okay?” Frisk nodded, and with care she climbed up and jumped onto the ledge onto her feet. Frisk threw out her arms and I jumped, snd she managed to pull me up with some strain. Frisk looked a little annoyed when she realized the same trick wouldn’t work on Monster Kid.

 

“Don’t worry too much about me. I always find a way to get through!” He turned right around and left, I called out to them one last time though.

 

“Don’t take any big risks OK, I don’t think Undyne would like it if you got hurt while looking for her.” I didn’t hear him reply but I was sure he had heard me.

 

Soon enough, there was another ancient text for us to read.

 

“ **The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without mercy.** ’ Frisk only sighed and used the power of SAVE once more.

 

‘ **The serene sound of a distant music box. Fills you with Determination.** ’

 

Another file save then…

 

Red grew quiet once more and I wondered why. I asked him, and he said he was never much of a talker at all. Very few humans had ever been capable of understanding him, and meetings with his own kind were few and far between. The first fallen child read on once more.

 

“ **In the end, it could barely be called a war. United, the humans powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single SOUL was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust…** ’

 

A brief silence for the fallen monsters of ancient times followed and Frisk bowed her head in respect for the lost.

 

“We need to start running again.” Frisk looked aghast and I nodded sadly.

 

“Undyne is going to use spear mines, that thankfully are giant blue glowing circles.” Frisk nodded and she looked as ready as a twelve year old could be to run to her life. I breathed deeply and then let it out, hoping I… _we_ would be alright. We walked onto the bridge and I told Frisk we needed to follow the path of the one beneath us to escape.

 

Suddenly all around us several glowing circles emerged and I almost screamed as the attack came and went.

 

Fuck…we need to run! We did so, and had trouble dodging each attack.

 

Run, run, stop, run, run, stop, and—!

 

“Frisk!” I pushed her lightly out of the way, and fell onto the mine myself. I was completely unprepared and was hit by a barrage of attacks. The spears pierced through both my heart and my body.

 

**0/26 HP**

 

It hurts so much…I lifted my bloody and shaky hand up, and a horrified Frisk grasped it in desperation. I could hear her scream and sob but not much else.

 

Is this…

 

What’s it’s like to die?

 

I-I dont w-want to d—

 

_—Play Determination—_

 

 _“_ Please wake up! Stay Determined…”

 

I…I _please_

 

**Reloading…**

 

The star…

 

I fell to the ground, the brief phantom pain of being impaled paralyzing me. Gaster looked ashamed at his failure, Chara looked incredibly pale, while Frisk only wailed and tackled me. My vision turned blurry and I tightened my hold on Frisk, using her as a pillow.

 

F-fuck dying hurts…

 

It hurts…

 

A cry of pain from Frisk, brought me back from the edge and I loosened my hold. She shook in my arms, and I hated this situation so much. The only reason I’m not totally resentful is because it was either this or complete and total _oblivion_. But when I find that Demon _bitch_ I’ll make her _suffer_ for what’s she’s done. I’m kind of scarred for life now, but I’ve been so _stupid._ No matter how goofy they are, the Monsters(especially Undyne and Flowey) are trying to kill us.

 

“W-we need to get going.” I don’t know how I can keep going after just fucking _dying_ but we can’t change anything here. We don’t have the choice of going back no matter how much we want to.

 

“P-please.” Frisk begged but I insisted, and I flinched as Gaster picked us up. I suddenly felt much lighter, and then noticed the faint glow of orange magic lining our bodies.

 

“Runs as quickly as possible, I will help you with blocking attacks. It’s clear to see that Undyne is holding back _far_ less than what is normal.”

 

“I-I…”

 

“GOO!” He roared and I pulled Frisk with all my strength and managed to enter the bridge in a full out run.

 

We avoided more attacks than before, our sped up movements and reaction times keeping us from being impaled to death. I carefully watched the bottom bridge for the way out, and it was Frisk this time who took a mine. We were able to split the damage evenly, but were left on very low HP. Even Gaster couldn’t keep up with Undyne’s bullet hell barrage. Red had dodged all the attacks and I breathed out in relief. He ran out ahead, and we eventually lost sight of him. Only Frisk could follow, her sensitive ears picking out his distant high pitch chirps. He was beckoning us to the end of the bridge, and I heard Undyne’s terrifyingly close footsteps pick up the pace. Frisk jumped and I was pulled along for the ride, we fell into a heap on the edge of the bridge.

 

We had nowhere else to go…

 

The massive and frankly imposing figure of Undyne approached and we took a step back.

 

_CRACK!!!_

 

We fell into the abyss deep below us.

 

***

“It sounds like it came from over here…”

 

Who’s that? Am I hearing voices?

 

M-Mom? Dad? Chara, Gaster?

 

Brandon? The voices grew a bit stronger, and more _familiar_ …

 

“Oh! You’ve fallen down, haven’t you…” The voices sounded like a boy, with a very slight accent. I know I had heard it before from some traders Dad had known from Dallas.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Here, get up…”

 

“...”

 

“Funny huh, that’s a nice name.”

 

“My name is—.”

 

Ugh where am I? The last I remember is me and Brandon falling after Undyne hit the bridge with her spear attack. And what was that weird vision anyway? Brandon probably knows, I should ask him. I sat comfortably in a cute little pile of

buttercups, and Brandon groaned as Red nested on top of him. We must have fallen a lot though, but we were still alive. A brief flash of blue, and I guessed that Mr. Gaster had saved us with his magic. I leaned back as Brandon picked himself up and Red fell off in a small heap. I giggled as the old bird sniffed at something, but then something really gross smelling made me cover my nose.

 

“What is that!?” I asked Brandon and he looked similarly disgusted. I looked around, and I felt sick at the vast dump in front of us. Did we really have to wade through water that dirty? Please no! Anything but wading in hot garbage water.

 

“No!” Brandon gave me a look of concern.

 

“If you don’t want to wade in that I could…” I shook my head, I didn’t want him to get sick either.  He muttered under his breath as he thought of something and snapped his finger as he got an answer.

 

“Maybe you can use your magic to make a floor to walk on.”

 

That might work. But I don’t know to channel my magic. I told him as much and he thought of a solution there too.

 

“Maybe try to focus your magic into your hand first?” He seemed unsure but I followed his idea anyway. I didn’t want him to lose confidence, he needs a little boost now and again. I concentrated, and closed my eyes to make it easier to see in my head.

 

Maybe a magic word would help.

 

Open sesame!

 

Abrakazam!

 

Wingardium Leviosa!

 

Nope not helping…but the hand thing is working. There’s a small flame in my hand, that’s red with a green core. Now I just need to get the green and make a magic wall. I heard Gaster and Chara give me encouragement and I smiled wide.

 

I liked Chara’s smile, it was a little creepy but also cute at the same time. I don't know to explain it myself. She’s really pretty too, and older…

 

I felt my heart beat faster, and a faint green glow distracted me. Brandon gave me a look of surprise and awe, and I blushed knowing that I did it! Chara clapped and I gave a small bow, which made her give me a dubious look.

 

“OK let’s go.” I changed the subject, and we walked along the path I made.

 

I’m a wizard Harry!

 

Another SAVE point! Gonna save, gonna save, cus I don’t want anyone to die again!

 

Now les see here, _now_ save! Narrator!Chara do your thing!

 

‘ **The waterfall here seems to flow from the ceiling of the cavern. Occasionally, a piece of trash will flow through…and will fall into the bottomless abyss below. Viewing this endless cycle of worthless garbage… It fills you with Determination.** ’

 

I really wish Chara couldn’t read some of my inner thoughts…

 

Okay let’s go. Hmm Brandon seems to be a little sluggish right now, but that’s okay  I’ll help him. Okay let’s just grab his hand and pull him forward a bit…Make some more barriers, and start walking. Chara seems worried…

A-and she would be right, I saw him d-die, I remember feeling his blood on my hands…while he faded away and I couldn’t do anything…

 

I…

 

Huh…

 

Oh hey Red, What are you—DOING!

 

OW!! I heard a snicker, and turned toward the source. Brandon was covering his eyes with his one of his hands, while I rubbed my butt after Red kicked me with his claws out.

 

“Hey!!” He continued to snicker and I pouted. You _will_ regret this you know. I shook my head, and formed a dozen more barriers to walk on. We passed by a bunch of junk, and a single solitary dummy that seemed oddly _familiar_ for some reason. I gave this dummy a light pat and moved on.

 

I’m _really_ hungry now, maybe I can eat one of the pies that goat mom made for us. But I’ll wait until we’re out of the dump—

 

What was that?! A loud splash later, and the dummy came back and he had eyes now!

 

“Hahaha…Too intimidated to fight me, huh!?”

 

Oh no…

 

***

I really need to quit spacing out if we’re going to get attacked by monsters all the time.

 

“Blablabla!” It doesn’t really matter, what’s he saying since he’ll get mad no matter what we do or say. Mad Dummy directed all his anger directly at me, and that was when I realized that _I_ was the one to talk with his cousin instead of Frisk. Our SOULS were summoned beginning the fight against the ghost possessing a dummy monster.

 

‘ **Mad Dummy blocks the way!** ’ I guess Gaster wasn’t in the mood to monologue. I tried to talk to him, saying I was trying to compliment his cousin. He only grew madder and I sighed, knowing it was futile.

 

_—Play Dummy Fight—_

 

“Futile!” He shouted and repeated the word several times after. His attacks formed in a circle all around us and I raced toward the Dummy as his attacks honed in. Frisk followed behind me, and we both ducked. The dummy was _pissed_ as his own bullets damaged his body.

 

“OWWW, you dummies!!! Watch where you’re aiming your Magic attacks!!!” I heard Mad Dummy tell us to ignore what he said, and I felt a headache come on.

 

“Hey come on, you can take us to your cousin to apologize right!” The monster turned bright red in anger and Frisk was taken aback by the reaction to her offer.

 

“I’ll defeat you and take your SOUL!” He was directing his rant to me, and I decided to just accept his weirdness. Again his own dummies accidentally turned against them with their poor aiming skills, and I was close to yawning at this point. Better this than Undyne, Asgore or Flowey/Asriel though. I ignored his sentence on using my soul to cross the barrier, and rocketed forward, the dummy missiles pummeling him in the face as I did a backflip.

 

Man, magic really gives you a huge boost in coordination huh? This time the missiles followed Frisk and she created a green barrier to jump on, they again hit Mad Dummy.

 

‘ **He’s getting cotton balls all over the dialogue screen?!** ’ The monster glared at Chara for that, and she glared back making him flinch. She definitely has a more terrifying face than he ever could unless he possessed a horror movie prop.

Each wave damaged him more and more even as he moved around erratically, and he grew more and more furious.

 

“GRAA! I’ve had enough of you, you’re all FIRED!!!” The other dummies left, and a mechanical whirring entered the room. Small robotic dummies surrounded us, and Frisk only palmed her face in disbelief. The rockets were a little harder to dodge and we were clipped once or twice but it’s not much damage anyway.

 

“WHO CARES!! WHO CARES!!!” Mad Dummy roared and the robots all fled the scene. He pulled out a knife and Frisk only let out a “tsk” of disappointment.

 

“WHO NEEDS FRIENDS!! WHEN YOU HAVE KNIVES!!!”  I took a single step to the right, and the dull dagger clattered to the soggy ground.

 

“I’m… out of knives.” Chara groaned even louder, and Dr. Gaster seemed to pity the monster. I ignored Mad Dummy’s rant about fighting us for all eternity, and he fled the scene as a rain of acidic tears forced him back. Frisk’s eyes lit up in recognition and she clapped her hands together in glee. Napstablook took the other ghost monsters place, with his usual sad look.

 

“…sorry i interrupted you, didn’t i? as soon as i came over, your friend immediately left..” Frisk shook her head and waved her arms, wanting to reassure the depressed ghost.

 

“and you looked like you were having fun. oh no… i just wanted to say hi… oh no…………”

 

Wait shit don’t lea— _and_ he’s gone, dang it! Wait no he’s still here.

 

“um, feel free to “come with” if you want…but no pressure…just thought i would offer…” Frisk gave him a happy thumbs up, and Napstablook skedaddled out of here. Frisk lifted up her phone as we stepped back onto solid ground. She was calling Papyrus.

 

“I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE CALLED ME. I ALWAYS MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER… WHEN THEY’RE DOWN IN THE DUMPS!!!” Frisk giggled, and a few tears fled her eyes, for a few seconds I saw a flash of blue and I shivered.

 

“I’VE SPENT TOO LONG WITH MY BROTHER TODAY.” Papyrus hung up, and Frisk used her sleeves to brush away the water on her face. She grew worryingly silent and I…

 

“You’re just as scared as I am aren’t you?” There was no reason to deny it. Frisk was very perceptive for her age, it makes sense that someone like her would manage to free an entire underground kingdom. But again it could be because of her own Determination and the whole inability to die that let her do so.

 

“Yeah…” I replied with a shaky voice. “But we need to keep going anyway.”

 

“I think you need to slow down.” I nodded in agreement, and she looked confused.

 

“We’re going to spend some time with Napstablook first, maybe look around a bit. I _really_ need a break.” I adjusted my ruffled cloak and we left the smelly Dump behind. Up there a couple of meters in front of us was Napstablook.

 

“hey… my house is up here… In case you want to see… or in case… you don’t…” It would be nice if the little guy would have some more confidence in himself. He floated down the middle path. This time I pressed the yellow star, and I felt the calmness of this place.

 

‘ **You feel a calming tranquility. You’re filled with Determination.** ’

 

Yeah nice and tranquil, a good place to not think about your own death…

 

Heheheh…

 

I need a therapist…

 

“To Blooky’s!” Frisk suddenly piped in with enthusiasm, and rocketed forward, at say 50 meters a second. I would probably not have died if we could maintain those speeds more consistently.

 

‘I’ll help train you in the little time we have alright.’ I acknowledged Gaster with a nod and shot forward. Catching up with the little girl, we quietly opened the door and let ourselves in to the blue house on the left.

 

_—Play Pathetic House—_

 

“oh… you guys really came. sorry i wasn’t expecting that. it’s not much, but make yourself at home.”

 

He’s not wrong his home isn’t really in the best condition, there’s lot of cracks and cobwebs that made the house seem mildly dangerous. A deep growl made me look around in panic, until I found its source was Frisk’s stomach.

 

“are you hungry? let me get you something from the bridge.” He was ready to hand Frisk the ghost sandwich.

 

“Chara catch it!” I hissed loudly and she gave me a sarcastic salute. Just as Frisk phased through the sandwich, the first fallen child caught it in her hands.

 

“oh…” Chara looked curious and took a bite, she seemed to like it, and big tears ran down her face as she took more bites. She bowed at an almost 90 degree angle, and Bloomy practically flowed with embarrassment at Chara’s actions. I took out a piece of surviving Monster Candy and ate it, while Frisk ate half a bisicle. And oh my god, the name is damn pun. It really took me _this_ long to realize that to.

 

“oh, after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage… it’s a family tradition…”

 

Yes…Chara join us in our depression naps.

 

“do you want…to join me…” We moved down to the center of the room, and the eldest of our group followed suit. The usually energetic suddenly looked just plain _old_ and tired, and he fell asleep. Gaster laid down as well and he similarly fell asleep reminding me much of sans.

 

“Yep.”

 

“just lay down, and only move when you want to get up okay… i guess.” Napstablook gently instructed and we followed along. I kept my eyes wide open, as did Frisk… well as wide open as she usually can I mean. I relaxed immediately, and I smiled dumbly, finally having a good moment of peace after this long day. Frisk eyes widened in appreciation as sparkles flew through the air.

 

It’s beautiful, I could see the vastness of space, the countless galaxies full of worlds unseen and potentially filled with life. I grinned at the sight, this was the closest I might ever get to another galaxy, other than this one and my own. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness, as well as Gaster’s bewildered cough fit.

 

But sooner than we wanted, it would be our time to get up. The vision of space vanished, and I sluggishly got up. I lifted up Frisk, and she looked like she wanted to lay down for longer. I smiled as I noticed the CD players, and played Spookwave.

 

_—Play Spookwave—_

 

The ambience man…

 

“You’re pretty talented you know that? I could never do something like this myself.” Napstablook blushed, and Frisk vigorously nodded in agreement.

 

“Maybe we can make some music together.” I blinked in pleasant surprise as Frisk bounced up to the ghost. “I’m really quite good, I know how to play a couple of instruments and I can sing too.” That’s something new that I didn’t know about Frisk. I did a double-take as Chara agreed and Napstablook looked surprised and honored at their suggestion.

 

“oh…i’m not that good… there are a lot of monsters that are better than me…” Frisk could only shake her head in denial.

 

“Nope, even if there are people who are better I would want to play with you anyway.” Napstablook looked close to being on the brink of tears and seemed a little happy.

 

“maybe… maybe we can hang out again sometimes… but i think you need to go, Undyne’s been pretty anxious to look for you.” Frisk froze in fear but nodded with hesitation.

 

“I guess we’ll see each other again Blooks, maybe you can teach me some stuff.” I said, we then said our respective goodbyes and we were soon outside of his home. I heard the screaming of a Woshua and an Aaron in the distance, and I discreetly took out my phone to record the incident.

 

“Run away ; )”

 

“No winking!” They shrieked away, and Chara laughed at their suffering. I heard a distorted cackle, and jumped back as Gaster wheezed on the ground. He hit the ground with his fist as he laughed.

 

‘My, my, the youth of today are truly gullible. They b-believed me about the ghost so easily!’

 

I guess he really is sans dad… a real troll. We saved another time, and stopped at the entrance to a certain turtle monster’s Shop.

 

“Welcome to Gerson’s Emporium. I’ve got some neat junk for sale.” Frisk only wanted to talk, to the old turtle monster as did Chara.

 

‘Old man Gerson…’  Chara sounded awfully fond of him. She must have been friends with him during her time in Underground. Frisk asked about himself and the old man cackled.

 

“I’ve been around a _long_ time, maybe even a little too long. Studying history is easy when you’ve lived as long as me. Wa ha ha!” Chara seemed to disagree and desperately tried to touch his shell. Her expression fell, and Gaster patted her back.

 

“What’s that symbol mean?” The old man’s eyes widened and he tsked.

 

“Don’t even know want the symbol on your own cloak means. Kids these day I tell you what. You don’t what the Delta Rune is for right?” Frisk said no, and his frown deepened. “This is the emblem of our kingdom… The Kingdom…of Monsters.” Frisk’s expression said it all.

 

“Great name right? It’s as I always say… Ol’ King Fluffybuns can’t name for beans. And based on the look on your face kiddo, you want to know what it means too.”

 

“No one knows the original meaning, as it was lost to time. We know the triangles signify monsters while the winged circle represents…something else.” Frisk looked curious and the old monster continued his tale.

 

“They say it’s the Angel from the prophecy. Legend has it than an ‘angel’ who has seen the surface will descend and bring us freedom.  Lately, the people have a bleaker outlook. Callin it the ‘Angel of Death.’ In my opinion it just looks neat! Wa ha ha!” Frisk have him a deadpanned look, but she kept stalling.

 

“Could you tell us about the King, we’ve never got to meet him in person.”

 

We’d be dead if we had…

 

“King Fluffybuns? He’s a friendly, happy go-lucky kind of guy…” Frisk looked a little skeptical, while Chara agreed with Gerson. “If you keep walking around long enough, you’ll probably run into him. He loves to walk around and talk to people.” Frisk quietly asked a question. “Eh? Why do I call Dreemurr ‘Fluffybuns?’ Oh that’s a great story! I don’t remember it… But if you come back much later, I’m sure I’ll have remembered it by then.”

 

“What do you know of this “Undyne.” Red spoke up, his claws twitching in anxiety. The two men gave each other looks of understanding, as fellow elderly folks and smirked.

 

“Undyne huh? She’s a bit of a local hero around these parts. Through grit and Determination, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard. Actually she came here a while ago looking for people who looked like the three of you. I’d watch your back fellow old timer.” They both chuckled as if sharing an inside joke, and I tilted my head in confusion.

 

“Maybe buy an item or two. Wa ha ha!”  Frisk seemed to think about it for a moment before buying some sea tea in curiosity.

 

“Be careful out there!” Was the last we heard as we left, and I jumped as Gaster gave us a panicked expression. He lifted up our hoodie to cover our faces, and gave us white masks that only showed our eyes. I realized why as a huge monster walked toward us.

 

It…was _Asgore_.

 

He…He was much bigger than what I was expecting. He had to have been 9 feet all and almost half as wide too. His cloak made him seem even bigger, despite this the goofy and gentle smile on his face washed the danger I felt from him away. Red said nothing, and gave the King a glare despite the hilarious size difference.

 

“Howdy.” Chara rushed at him, but he only shivered slightly as she phased through his body.

 

“Hello.” We greeted him simultaneously. I touched Frisk’s hand, and felt her shaking like a leaf under her cloak.

 

‘It’s okay, as long as he doesn’t know what we are we’ll be safe okay.’ Her shaking stopped, and she smiled up at the fluffy Boss Monster.

 

“I’ve never seen many monsters like you before.” He said his thick bushy eyebrows furrowing in innocent curiosity.

 

Keep calm…

 

“Heh um yeah we’re a little new to Waterfall, we’re visiting from Hotland.” I nudged Frisk so she would play along.

 

“Oh interesting, I’ve not seen you there before on my walks, but then again there are many monsters in Underground. Normally I would enjoy chatting with you children, but there is business I must attend to.” We nodded, and held our breath for nearly a minute as his shadow vanished.

 

‘He’s going back to New Home.’ Gaster informer is.

 

Oh thank goodness. We let out our held breathes and jogged away to get as far away as possible. I could still hear his footsteps, but he was _fast_ , faster than a speeding bullet you could say.  We removed our masks no longer needing them any longer. I grasped the ancient text and Chara read on, hoping to calm her nerves.

 

‘ **Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a strong SOUL can leave.** ’ We stopped at two whispering echo flowers, and strained our ears to listen to the distant steps of the King.

 

‘ **There is only one way to reverse the spell. If a power equivalent to 7 human SOULS, attacks the barrier… It will be destroyed.** ’

 

“They only need one more SOUL then…” I nodded sadly, and Chara looked horrified as she realized how much blood was on her dear old dad’s hands. We continued our walk, and read on.

 

‘ **But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped here forever.** ’

 

***

 

“hOI!!! i’m TEMMIE.” The madness inducing voice of a Temmie echoed, as the monster(?) vibrated in place and used a Temmie shaped attack that did nothing. We spared the the monster and they faded away into the darkness. I could hear the distant cries of “hOI!!!” and we were now in Tem Village.

 

‘This is where sanity comes to die isn’t it?’ A frightened Chara queried, using Frisk as a meat shield against the adorable abominations known as Temmie. Frisk talked to a tem who replied.

 

‘hOI i’m temmie, and dis is my friend… temmie!!!” I can even tell that they’re misspelling this despite it being spoken rather than written.

 

“Hello Bob.” I replied to the one Temmie with actual name and moved on. Oh and their soundtrack is actually played by a special group of Temmie, so we have to hear “tho, tho, tho, thu…” the entire time.

 

“ **You feel… something. You’re filled with De _temmie_ nation.**’ Chara was given a big thumbs down from Frisk, a hiss from Red, and a shake of the head from Gaster.  She skulked away with a sad and hurt expression on her face.

 

“I thought it was fine.” Her smile picked up a bit, as we entered the Tem Shop. I walked up the store Temmie and paid 4 colleg.

 

“WOAH!!! thas ALOT of muns… can tem really acepts… OK tem go to colleg and make u prouds!!!” The Temmie moved out of sight, leaving their face behind. It’s eyes followed me no matter how I moved. I turned to find the kids at the corner of the store cowering in terror.

 

“Chara hold me!” Frisk cried out, with small tears of fear ready to leak out. Chara was half way _in_ the wall, and close to running away. Suddenly the Tem came back, and their face and body became one again.

 

“tem bak from cool leg. tem learn many things, learn to sell new ITEM. yayA!!!”

 

“9000 gold?”

 

Oh right it gets cheaper each time you die…

 

Yay…

 

Huh… Temmie Armor looks a _lot_ like a mini version of Asgore’s armor. Frisk’s eyes filled with delight at the sight.

 

The main differences is that’s it’s thinner, had no shoulder guards, differing colors, and didn’t cover the legs. It’s more of an armored vest really. My set was colored silver, while it’s sleeve things were purple. Frisk’s set was black, while her sleeves were red. Frisk hesitantly removed her tutu, bow, and mandana and replaced it with the armor. It shined brightly, and Frisk wore her cloak like a cape, blowing in a nonexistent wind. She puffed out her cheeks, trying to put on a serious and heroic face. She failed in making herself look serious, but succeeded in making herself look _adorable_. Chara clearly liked it, she had a look on her face I couldn’t identify, her natural blush deepening.

 

Didn’t take me long to figure it out though…

 

I smirked smugly at Chara, and her blush reached down to her neck. But her embarrassment was quickly replaced by unease. I knew we had done everything we needed to do. Frisk nodded resolutely and we left the village, but not before we were pounced on by Temmie. Thankfully neither of us were allergic, and a hiss from Red stopped their cuddle pile form suffocating us.

 

All too soon, we were approaching a certain dark cavern. Meanwhile Gaster was teaching us how to generate a barrier of aura around our bodies to protect us from her attacks as well as environmental damage.

 

‘An aura is simply a soul flame that covers your body, the culmination of every aspect of yourself in a thin layer all across your body. The both of you have succeeded in forming it, however it is still far weaker than the magic infused armor of the Temmie…” Gaster trailed off, as the path grew darker and we stopped at a small echo flower. Frisk hesitantly pressed it, knowing what would happen after I had told her what would come next.

 

“ **Behind you.** ” There she was in her full glory. Undyne, the Spear of Justice, the captain of the Royal Guard, and in another much darker timeline she would be known as Undyne the Undying. We stood our ground, and glared with fake bravado into the eye of the powerful knight.

 

“ **Seven.  Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king…** ” Chara whispered “dad” at the same time

 

“ **King Asgore Dreemurr… will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take surface back from humanity… And give them back the suffering and pain we have endured.** ”

 

Most likely humanity would just put the monsters down for good with the combined power of millions of souls.

 

“ **You understand, don’t you humans. This is your only redemption for what you’ve done to us. One of you must give us your soul, or I’ll tear out both of your souls from your bodies.** ” Her fist closed and her spear emerged, we could feel her power from here. She lifted up her spear and rushed us…

 

“Undyne!!” Monster Kid shouted, and she stopped her attack. He looked confused and looked back and forth for a moment.

 

“Why are you attacking them?!” Undyne growled and dragged the kid off.

 

“WAIT!! Don’t tell my parents!!!” That was the last we heard of him, and we made our escape. Once we had reached the next text Frisk looked a little teary eyes and cleaned herself off on my sleeve.

 

“Frisk.” She shrugged and gestured at Chara to read.

 

“ **However…there is a prophecy. The Angel… The One Who Has Seen the Surface. They will return. And the underground will go empty.** ” Chara shuddered with revulsion, and I knew why and _hated_ it.

 

“Let’s just go.” I grabbed Frisk’s hand, as we approached the small bridge not wanting her to fall. Just short of reaching the underside however…

 

“Yo!” Monster Kid had managed to escape from Undyne’s grasp and was walking carefully on the small bridge.  He stopped just short of us, and we walked further away onto solid ground.

 

“Maybe get away from the small bridge, so no one falls okay Kid?” He nodded and I sighed in relief as he now away from the chasm below.

 

“Okay what were you going to say?” I could see the glowing glare of Undyne our in the distance.

 

“I wanna ask you guys something.” We gestured for him to go onward. “Man, I’ve never had to ask someone this before… Y-you guys are human right?” We nodded and he jolted.

 

“I-I knew it! If you guys are humans, would that make us enemies?” Frisk looked unsure, and her lip quivered.

 

“I…I want to be friends.” Frisk whispered lowly, and Monster Kid eyes lit up.

 

“You really mean it?” She nodded briskly, but when he moved a bit backward he tripped on a vine. He was still too close to the edge!

 

“Ahhh!!” I threw myself at him, hoping to catch him either by his head or his shirt.  But I missed him by inches.

 

“Nooo!!!” I was blinded by a green glow coming from a distraught Frisk, I opened my eyes and let out a huge breath. Monster Kid was sitting on a green barrier, alive and unharmed. Gaster looked pissed and the vine had disappeared.

 

Flowey…you bastard. Frisk’s hands shook as she conjured up more barriers for MK to walk on. We pulled him away from the edge as much as possible. We flinched as the loud bang of heavy armor grew louder, and I stepped in front of Frisk as Undyne caught up with us.

 

“H-hey, if you want to get to my friends, you need to get through me first!” Undyne looked taken aback, and took a huge step in reverse. She went back the way she came and Monster Kid let out a huge breath.

 

“Thank you.” Frisk gave him a hug and they laughed.

 

“No problem dude, besides you saved my life. You guys are good humans, you’re not like the other humans who sealed us down here.” Frisk looked flattered as she let go, and grinned proudly.

 

“I think you need to go home.” Their grins dropped and and I crossed my arms.

 

“Ah why?” I narrowed my eyes at Monster Kid, and pointed with my eyes to the bridge.

 

“I really don’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“But Undyne…” I raised my hand to stop him.

 

“We’ll be fine, besides everything should end today and in a good way too, I promise.” He tackled me, and I patted his head, Frisk gave me a hug from the back.

 

We need to go…

 

***

 

The Spear of Justice was here…

 

The knight stood with her back to us, and I readied myself. I already told Frisk about her spear attack, but we would still need to be prepared for anything. Undyne sounded a little angry.

 

“ **Seven. Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six. That  is how many we have. With one of your souls, we can _change_ the world…**” Undyne shook in anger, and then…

 

“ **You know what…SCREW it! I don’t need to say anymore. This whole goody two-shoes thing is clearly an ACT! You pushed the kid off the cliffs you bastards!** ” We openly denied it, but she wasn’t having it. She ripped her helmet off and revealed her face. She was surprisingly attractive for a fish lady, her red hair fluttered in the breeze, her yellows eye glowing with a supernatural intensity. Frisk blushed, and I gave her a coy look.

 

“NNNGGGAAAAAH! I’ve had enough of you. You stand in the way of everyone’s hopes and dreams. I thought humans were cool with their giant robots and flowery swordsman. But you’re all lying cowards, using the Kid to run away from ME!! You’re lives are all that stand in the way of our freedom HUMANS!!” Undyne screams at us from the top of her lungs.

 

“Everyone is ready for freedom. This is _the_ moment humans, this will be the glorious battle, my determination versus your determination! There’s nowhere to run anymore surface dwellers!!” She generated a spear, it’s light blinding and the magical weapon split three ways. Two of the spears became shields for us and we stared upwards as Undye made a throat slitting gesture.

 

“ **The wind is howling. You are filled with determination.”**

 

We let out a burst of speed, we _needed_ to run. Undyne leaped, and we bounded forward out of her trajectory. Undyne landed on her right, cracking the ground with the weight of her armor and energy in her fall.

 

“Get back here humans!!” We took several steps into the new passageway before we froze, our hearts turning green. She thrust out multiple attacks.

 

Holy shit!!! We blocked or deflected the attacks with great success, but we were still occasionally clipped anyway. I took some hits to the forearm, and Frisk a bit to her sternum. There were no cuts on my arms, the armor we were wearing as well as mymagic blocking the attack, the same applying to Frisk. The effect wore off, and we started to sprint. We ran but she was faster than I expected, we were moving at Olympic level speeds but she was still keeping up despite being her heavy armor.

 

I looked behind me and regretted it, her cry of rage shook the tunnel. And I ran even faster. I was pushed out the way and I shouted as Frisk generated a barrier, I could only watch in horror as the barrier broke, and the spear punched through…

 

**Reloading…**

 

We ran immediately, Frisk especially and she froze us one more time, but we quickly broke free from her magic. I wondered where Gaster was and I jolted as an image of him chasing off Flowey passed through my mind. Something seems different with the flower, Gaster had summoned an array of hands, and was using them to block all of the deadly golden flower’s bullet attacks.

 

‘I’m sorry!’ Gaster screamed in apology.

 

‘Just Let mE KILL YOU!’ I was snapped out of the vision by Flowey’s shriek of anger and rage.

 

He can’t help us, even if he wants to…

 

I grabbed Frisk by the hand, and I felt a surge of magic.

 

I need to survive, _she_ needs to survive, I need to WIN! A boom followed in my wake, and Undyne let out a shout of elation. I could feel the searing heat of Hotland from here.

 

“GET BACK HERE COWARDS!!” She passed a confused sans at his post, and became even more frustrated. I felt my phone vibrate and I confusingly brought it out.

 

“HEY! I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT OUR PLANS TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE!” The aforementioned warrior’s pace slowed down.

 

“We’re still on for that Paps.”

 

“GOOD, GOOD, SEE YOU THEN!” He hung up, just as Undyne finally stopped.

 

She looked worse for wear, her breath was ragged, her forehead shining with sweat, and she was wobbly on her feet. Frisk seemed worried, and Undyne took another step forward.

 

“N-no….armor too hot. I can’t be beat, not like this.” She finally collapsed with a resounding boom.

 

Oh no… Her sweat is literally _steaming_ away! Frisk walked forward and blanched as she checked the fish lady’s temperature. She leaped to the rescue, grabbed the _entire_ tank of cool water and slowly dumped it over Undyne’s body. After a few seconds of water being poured, a gauntleted fist told her to stop. Undyne jumped to her feet, leaving small impressions of her boots on her ground.

 

She remained silent, but sighed and gave us a small nod before walking away. Her booming footsteps signaled her return to her home. I turned around, and _wait_ the tank is back in its place?!

 

Ugh…nevermind.

 

“We should meet up with Papyrus right?”  I stared at her in wonder, of understanding how she could continue being so nice to someone who…had killed her…

 

“kid!!” I was startled out of my thoughts, as sans approached with worry clear in tone. He checked Frisk for injuries frantically, and she looked like a deer under headlights. He looked at his quivering lips, and gave me a glare that quickly weakened.

 

“she killed the both of you didn’t she?” We nodded despondently, and Frisk finally broke down. I heard Red shriek expletives, and he pulled me aside while Frisk cried into sans shoulders.

 

“What are you…” He hissed angrily, but there was also a hint of sadness.

 

“What’s wrong?” I paled when he started coughing blood. I rushed to help him, but he refused and scratched me. It didn’t hurt very much, but still.

 

“Stop, I just need to take my meds is all.” His left hand pawed down to his left leg, and I felt my jaw drop as half of his leg turned out to be a hyper advanced prosthetic. He opened a small compartment and pulled out several pills and with his long tongue pulled them into his mouth and swallowed.

 

“I’m not mad at you, someone like that fish would be hard for anyone to fight. But while Frisk is preoccupied I must tell you something.” I nodded and he sat on the ground, and closed his eyes.

 

“I’ve been around a _long_ time you know, long enough to see empires and nations rise up and fall. But the clock is ticking, and I’ll be joining Frisk’s family soon enough.”

 

I looked at him with whatever sympathy I could muster and he shook his head.

 

“Moving on from that.” I gave him a look and interrupted him.

 

“Moving on from your impending death!?” He laughed bitterly, and I was left confused.

 

“My death ain’t that impending and I’m very, very tired young man. Besides even with magic, nobody lives forever. I let her come here, because something in my instincts was telling me she would find someone to keep her safe. Here she found the monsters of the Underground and yourself, even with your oddities. I was too weak and old to protect her from her cloaca sucking relatives.”

 

“Was there any other reason.” He remained silent for a worrying amount of time.

 

“To pay our respects…”

 

“To who?” I asked curious to hear what he had to say.

 

“Frisk’s grandmother and her parents of course, their grave was made near the mountains here.” But he grew nervous and even afraid, but it wasn’t for himself, it was for _her_. He looked distant as he watched a smiling Frisk enthusiastically describe her battle with Undyne, making karate chop gestures and laughing when Kid made the occasional joke.

 

“At least…that was my reasoning. But not Frisk’s” I felt confusion permeate my being, but the dark look in his eye…

 

I looked at Frisk and I started to feel uneasy, a sick feeling making me queasy and uncomfortable. Why would she follow a dying old man, to a mountain where people would vanish and never return.

 

“I was too old and weak to help her. I should have seen the signs before…” Red muttered and actively berated himself. A strong sense of horror, flashed like lightning through my body and I hoped to _god_ I was wrong.

 

“I came to this place…” He paused and he looked so _old_. “To _die_ , but I can’t go just yet, because for all that my instincts tell me she needs to see them one last time, another big part was telling me she would follow soon after if she didn’t find a new family.”

 

I froze, and my hands felt clammy at the idea that _Frisk_ would ever even contemplate such a thing like su…like _that_. But then I’ve had similar thoughts to doing such things myself, if only for seconds at a time and for lesser reasons. Each time I felt sick and horrible when I had those bursts of thought. Not that things like human suffering should be compared.

 

“She…Frisk wouldn’t—.” I cut myself off knowing I was lying to myself.

 

“You have _no_ idea how much it hurt to see the light in her eyes grow dimmer and dimmer. The loss of her parents and Via started the inward spiral of sadness and pain, that’s slowly crippled her will. If her mother could see what her siblings had done to her daughter.” Red had a vindictive glint in his that frightened me.

 

“She would _break_ them.” He hissed lowly, and he chuckled darkly as he saw something in my gaze.

 

“I think I understand why the four of you were connected so closely by that creature. All four of you are connected by extremely negative emotions. Chara is bitter and angry at humanity, and the sheer loathing against her kind and herself is unfathomable. Gaster hates himself for the mistakes he’s made as well as all his failures.” My fist curled up into anger, and my lips raised up into a sneer. I opened my mouth, and he hissed forcing me to back down.

 

“Frisk blames herself for things that are outside her own control, and she has nothing to fall back on. It’s why I was looking for someone to take care of her, after I pass. If she’s left alone in this world, there will be nothing that will keep her there. I-I can’t allow that to happen.” Red was shaking, but I didn’t care, I was getting angry, my temper rising. He looked at me next, and I  couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

 

“How do you know this!” My temper finally spilling over. His eyes shined liked molten gold, and a faint glow of _something_ came from his chest area.

 

“I always had the uncanny ability to understand another being’s fears, faults, and morals. But it has only _intensified_ in this place of ancient magic. But let’s get back to what _I_ was saying.”

 

“And you…”

 

“You just plain don’t like yourself and have become stagnant and lazy, only able to feel disappointment in yourself for not living up to your potential. _But_ there is one thing you all have in common.”

 

Stop it…

 

SHUT UP!

 

Just leave me be.

 

Please…stop this.

 

“You all feel…so, so _alone_.”

 

***

 

“Ok that took us a couple of minutes, but we’re here” I declared and walked up to Papyrus, and ignoring _what_ had occurred several minute earlier.

 

“THE HUMANS AND THEIR BIRDY FRIEND HAVE ARRIVED! ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE? I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU ALL GREAT FRIENDS!”

 

“Okey dokey Papy!” Frisk was ready, though from my peripheral vision I saw her rub her forehead with shaky hands.

 

“NOW STAND BEHIND ME HUMANS!” He tilted his head to give us eye contact.

 

“PSST. MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS.” He revealed a bone shaped present. “SHE LOVES THESE!” The door to Undyne’s house opened.

 

There she was in a black tank top, and _oh_ my abs. Frisk was openly staring at them, and I gave her a flick on the head. Without her armor, her inhuman beauty was a little more visible, and I vowed in my mind to help Alphys out.

 

“Hi Papyrus! Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?” Undyne greeted Papyrus with vigor, the force of her voice creating a small wind.

 

“YOU BET I AM, AND I BROUGHT SOME FRIENDS!” Papyrus stepped aside revealing the two of us to Undyne. Frisk smiled and waved, and I did the same if far more stiffly. The second she saw us her eye twitched.

 

“Hello…”

 

“…” Our skeleton friend remained quiet.

 

Undyne looked ready to either crush us, or suplex a boulder. I really didn’t want to find out which.

 

“How. Delightful. Please? Why don’t your three. Come. In.” I saw sparks as she actively ground her teeth in barely contained rage. Frisk gave me a worried glance and I gave her what I hoped was a confident grin. Chara had a face splitting smile of sadistic glee, watching Undyne get violently angry. We wiped our feet against the welcome mat, and I raised an eyebrow as Frisk took off her shoes and put them in my backpack full of items we had bought. She procured a pair of slippers from… _somewhere_ and put them on, and happily hummed while entering the fishy home.

 

“Uh what is she—?.” I raised a hand to stop(hopefully politely) Undyne’s question.

 

“I think it’s a cultural thing?” Undyne leaned closer in innocent curiosity before remembering she’s supposed to hate me and scowled at me instead. She beckoned me in, and I was grateful that her home didn’t smell like fish. Her house was cozy enough, a nice blue and yellow checkerboard pattern floor, a grand piano to the left , a massive table to the right. There was a bunch of weapons and armor sets lying around in semi organized piles.

 

“So you three are all here for our special training today, huh?”

 

“OF COURSE, AND BEFORE I FORGET!” Paps dug around and pulled out “our” gift and passed it to Undyne. “FOR YOU!”

 

“Oh. Uh. Thanks, Papyrus I’ll put it away.” She grinned fakely showing off her razor sharp teeth. She opened the drawer and stored it with dozens of other similar bones. Frisk lifted up a finger in thought, and rummaged through her inventory. She pulled out a bisicle, and handed it to a surprised Undyne, smiling sweetly at the knight. The magic dual popsicle was passed into Undyne’s hand as Frisk stood up on her tippie toes.

 

“It’s cold, so it should help with the heat from…” I never told her the name before. “What’s that place called?”

 

“HOTLAND!” Papyrus answered her and she nodded. Undyne stored it away in a fridge, and looked uncomfortable at Frisk’s friendliness. She turned to us with her arms crossed.

 

“So should we sta—.”

 

“OH! I JUST REMEMBERED I NEED TO USE THE BATHROOM BYE!” Papyrus ran toward the window and jumped through, the shards of glass flying through the air. He landed in a perfect handspring, and walked out of sight.

 

“Uh okay?” That would be Frisk, I heard Chara muttering something about “why are skeletons so weird.” and a snort from Red.

 

“Why are you all here?” Oh Undyne sounded angry.

 

“Are you here to humiliate me, to gloat in my face.” _Wow_ Frisk looked really offended at that statement.

 

“I just want to be friends.” Frisk told her the truth in a whisper, and she looked up hopefully at the 7 foot plus monster.

 

“Friends!? You’re joking right? Yeah _totally_ let’s walk in the fields of friendship.”

 

‘She’s being sarcastic you know.’ Chara chimed in killing Frisk’s smile.

 

“If you guys weren’t my houseguests I would END you right here and now!” Red growled, and sharpened his claws.

 

“Oh you wanna have a go little missie. Come at me if you’re hard enough fishlips.” Frisk closed his jaw, and gently threw him back.

 

“Oh yeah! Let’s do this!!” Undyne helped out ready to fight.

 

“OH UNDYNE!” The angelic voice of our savior calmed my heart.

 

“DANG! WHAT A SHAME… I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BEFRIEND YOU GUYS EASILY… BUT I GUESS I OVERESTIMATED HER. SHE’S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE.” Thanks you from the bottom of my heart and soul Papyrus,

 

“Not. Up to. The Challenge.” Undyne said with a false calmness and I knew she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Huh would that be a pun/joke on her being a fish lady?

 

“Are you up the challenge of befriending some surface dwellers?” Red continued to prod her on.

 

Undyne let out the widest grin imaginable, showing her sharp teeth in all this glory.

 

“You think I can’t do it! I’ll prove you all wrong! When we’re done here I’ll be the only person you’ll think about. We’re not just going to be friends, we’re going to be—.” Her face was shadowed for a moment, and with a glint of her eyes she declared her goal.

 

“ **Besties.** ” She went into full on hostess mode, and Frisk was ready, first Undyne opened the door to her room, and we heard her rummaging around for bit. She returned with a single chair that she placed next to the other chair on her one table.

 

“Please take a seat. After all you’re all my guests here!”

 

_—Play Dating Start—_

 

I gave her a wide grin, partially since we don’t have to fight her anymore. But also because it might be fun to hang out with her, even if she’s a little… _intense_. We both took a sit, and Frisk grasped the seat and moved it closer to my side. Undyne sagged as Red yawned and took a nap on her floor. She looked ready to wake him up, until Frisk gave her puppy eyes.

 

“Let him sleep, he’s like 80 years old and needs his rest.” Red wouldn’t be sleeping for long, and I _really_ hoped he did wake up.

 

‘It’s really weird to not have Gaster here.”

 

Hello Chara, she waved at Undyne, and then flicked her. The fish monster narrowed her eyes, but shrugged. Her eye then widened as she realized something of importance.

 

“You guys must be thirsty after all that running around.” Honestly she wasn’t wrong and Frisk agreed with a nod. “I’ll get you something to drink.” A wide assortment of drinks were pulled down from her many cabinets with a stomp. Frisk looked interested in the actual mechanism of the special springs within Undyne’s cabinets hinges, but politely kept quiet.

 

Oh wait Frisk don’t get up!

 

 _CRACK!_ Went the table as Undyne chucked a spear through it. Frisk’s eyes were wide open with her pupils shrunk into pinpricks. Her hand were raised up protect herself, and she was catatonic until I booped her nose. She blinked and Frisk rebooted like a computer.

 

‘Are you okay?’ Chara asked with worry, and Frisk nodded subtly to her question.

 

“Ahem, uh right I have hot chocolate, tea, water, and…soda. Which would you like. You can use my spear to point to what you want.” I’m pretty sure tea is the only answer that actually works, but things might be different this time around. Frisk grabbed it, and after looking up and down at Undyne she pointed the spear at her. Undyne looked completely bewildered, and I struggled to hold my snicker as Chara grumbled.

 

“Are you… Hitting on me????” Frisk waggled her eyebrows and the _look_ on Undyne’s face was _undyingly_ priceless.

 

“Um, sorry she has a tendency to be really freaking weird.” Frisk stuck her tongue out, and I rolled my eyes. I gave her a tap, and gestured with my hand to the drinks.

 

“Hmm you need to restock on hot chocolate, it had a hollow clunk.” Frisk used her analytical skills to save the day.

 

“Hmm not bad kid.” Undyne complimented.

 

“I like water, but I’ve already had enough of water in Waterfall.”

 

“That’s fair.”

 

“That soda is giving me bad vibes.”

 

“Yeah it’s not really my style.”

 

So this is what a normal conversation is like…

 

“No swords since I like having my insides _stay_ insides. And I’m not that  _sword_ of guy to be into stuff like that.”

 

“Ahem yeah…” You made Undyne pretty uncomfortable Frisk, and it’s hilarious. Whatever Undyne was going to say, died on the tip of her tongue, but Frisk saved her the trouble and used the spear to point to the tea. And oh my I just noticed that was a pun on swords.

 

“Tea is the blatantly obvious choice here.” Frisk replied with confidence, and Chara leaned on the table.

 

‘That’s what I was gonna say.’ Chara said with disappointment. Undyne nodded and decided to fancy it up a bit, and Frisk watched in appreciation of her mastery. She looked her impatient to try it out, and reached out for it as Undyne placed two cups for each of us.

 

“Here we are.” Undyne sounded pleased as she took a seat with her own cup, and we waited for a moment to let it cool.

 

“It’s not that hot!” I hesitantly took a sip, while Frisk drank it all in a single sitting.

 

It burns… in more way than one, that Frisk can just drink _that while_ I can’t. Undyne looked impressed, and smirked. I glanced away out of embarrassment, I didn’t get much of a taste of the tea, due to the heat.

 

“You must be a practiced tea drinker right, and you chose the golden flower tea too.” Undyne said, nodding to a satisfied Frisk. The fish amazon looked pensive while looking down at her distorted reflection in her cup. “It’s kinda funny. The only reason I have this stuff in the house in the house is cause of Asgore.” Frisk’s head jerked up at the name drop of the king of monsters.

 

“I have to admit you kind of remind me of the big guy. You’re a total weenie, and he’s pudgy.” Undyne pointed to me. “Even if he does have a bit of a case of resting bitch face.” I looked at my stomach and frowned, even more so when Frisk poked my belly and giggled. I ignored the jab about my face since it was true, I kind of have a very narrow range of facial expressions, and with the stress my resting face won’t be the friendliest.

 

“But despite that he’s still the toughest guy in the Underground. Has has to be… so we can be free.” Frisk eyes dimmed in sadness, and her hands found their way onto the table.

 

“He never wanted to…you _know_ what to the other humans who fell down here did he?” Undyne’s nodded sadly and bowed her head in respect. Undyne suddenly smiled and seemed to be nostalgic. Red perked up up from his old man nap, his golden eyes staring intensely.

 

“You know…I used to be a pretty hot headed kid back in the day.” Frisk wasn’t going to miss the chance.

 

“Used to?” She said it so innocently too, and Undyne’s expression soured. But…it wasn’t in a bad way, like how a sibling or a friend can get mad but not mean it.

 

“Haha.” Undyne let Frisk’s little barb pass, and got back to her story telling.

 

“Ahem, so I tried to fight Asgore.” Frisk gasped in astonishment and Undyne smirked. “Emphasis on _tried_ , I couldn’t land even one bit on the big guy. The worst part is he wouldn’t even fight back. And you know what he said right after?” Frisk and I shook our head.” “Do you want to learn how to defeat me?’ Man was I surprised, the KING himself asking to teach me.”

 

“You definitely said heck yes to that offer I’m sure.” Someone said that but it wasn’t Frisk, _oh_ that came out of my mouth. I felt my lips curling into a happy smile. Undyne shared that same smile, and finished her tea with a single gulp, she placed it down, leaving a clattering noise.

 

“You’d be right about that. And since that day I started to train with him. It took me years, but eventually one day I finally knocked him down right on his ass! But then…I actually felt bad.” Frisk cocked her head and her eyes opened, startling Undyne just a bit. She refocused and started up again. “But he congratulated me anyway, I’d never seen someone so happy to see their butt kicked. And to make a long story short, he kept training me afterwards and eventually after a year I became Captain of the whole Guard. Now I get to be the one training dorks” Undyne shouted out with her righteous Undyneness.  I heard a whispering of “Awesome.” from Chara and as she backed into the buster sword it wobbled and fell to the floor with a bang. Undyne stood up for a moment, and placed it back onto it’s cluttered resting place with no further fanfare.

 

“You are pretty strong.” Frisk complimented the monster, with sincerity in her voice. Undyne patted her head, and Frisk grinned at the progress. Undyne coughed and hid her mouth behind her right fist.

 

“Dorks like Papyrus I mean.” She continued on from where she left off.

 

“I think Papyrus could make a good guard…” Frisk murmured, and Undyne straightened her back.

 

“Yeah Paps is pretty freaking tough, but with how nice he is he’d get ripped to smiling shreds. So I’ve been giving him cooking lessons, so he could something else with his life”

 

“It wouldn’t save him. I think he could do better if he was a guard though.” Undyne scowled at Frisk and I looked worriedly on at Frisk’s expression.

 

“There are… a lot of bad humans out there on the surface, and I know humans are supposed to be stronger than monsters because of their souls right.” Undyne warily nodded. “Then someone who wants to hurt monsters, there’d be nothing you could do.”

 

“The worst part is it almost did happen.” Red morbidly spoke up with an expression I couldn’t read.

 

Wait _what?_ Undyne stood up, and placed her hands on her table in anger.

 

“You saying humans tried to finish the job!?” Oh no, Undyne looks _pissed_. Red nodded but he had a vindictive expression on his face.

 

“They would have if Frisk’s grandmother and parents and I hadn’t helped bring _them_ down, violently in many cases.”

 

That’s a very casual way to say your a mass murderer. Frisk’s purple eyes widened and she was on the edge of her seat.

 

“I’ll tell you the full tale one day but not now. I’ll just give you the short version. We had to fight this evil cult who had taken over most of what was this state before the Collapse, they outnumbered us 50 to one, and wanted to kill all the monsters, and start the end of the world.”

 

“What.” What indeed Undyne. Frisk was catatonic at the cavalier revelation, and dammit is Frisk’s family a bunch of Fallout protagonists.

 

Oh _god_ that’s exactly what kind of place I’m in aren’t I. This messed up version of Undertale literally takes place after the world as we know it _ended_ , and now the planet’s been turned into a deceptively beautiful tropical death world, full of multiple different sapient species competing for dominance over the planet.

 

“Can we ignore him, _please_?” Undyne nodded, but I heard her whisper to Red, requesting more stories from him in the future.

 

“Right that doesn't reassure me at all, but go on with how Papyrus being in the guard is a good idea.”

 

“Well not everyone is going to be bad of course. Besides it’s his niceness that would make him a good guard. Humans don’t just kill randomly you know, they only do that when they’re angry, confused… afraid.” Her voice weakened and I placed my hand on her shoulder. “My mom told me a lot about something called a police officer, they aren’t supposed to be just strong. They should be there to help people calm down, to relate to them, and talk to them about their problems so they don’t make a terrible mistake, and Papyrus can do that.”

 

“Anyone who is a good enough person wouldn’t hurt someone like him.”

 

“You really believe that…don’t you?” Undyne was quiet and Frisk nodded, I followed her. Papyrus would make a good guard, someone to provide support for a kingdom that really needs it.

 

Frisk was startled out of her turbulent thoughts, as Undyne clapped her shoulder and looked up. Undyne gave her a thumbs up, and a bright grin.

 

“HAH you’re both good kids you know that right? You believe in Papyrus even more than I do. And. That. Is awesome!” She suddenly paused and I realized what was coming next.

 

“Wait a second…”

 

‘Ah yes what have I…oh.’ Gaster paused as Undyne became more erratic, her frown growing.

 

“Papyrus’s cooking lessons…”

 

Oh we’re going to get started then, I rolled up my sleeves and Frisk copied me with a puzzled expression.

 

“PAPYRUS IS SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING IT RIGHT NOW!!!” I waved Frisk down from the chair, but we remained near the table.

 

This may be a good way to release some stress, and it’s going to be _fun._

 

“AND IF HE ISN'T HERE TO TAKE IT…! THEN YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO IT IN HIS PLACE!! FUFUFUFUFU!!”

 

“Brandon you’re scaring me.” Come on Frisk, and join the fun. Undyne leaped in a backflip and landed on the cabinet.

 

“It’s just some _very_ destructive cooking is all Frisky.” Frisk gave me a deadpanned look but her expression shifted to an uncertain curiosity.

 

_—Play NGAHHH!—_

 

“NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking!” Frisk rose up at the idea of becoming friends, and she let out an eager glint of her eyes. We leaped to attention and stood in front of the kitchen cabinet to the right of her stove waiting for orders from our Captain.

 

“WE’LL BECOME CLOSER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!!!”

 

“YESSS!!” Frisk roared, lifted her arms up in a threat display. I marched with enthusiasm, all the pent up frustration over the past two days as well as Red’s shitflinging finally spilling out. Undyne roared and with a slam of her fist an array of fruits and veggies landed softly on the table.

 

“NOW! LET’S DO THIS! SMASH THOSE VEGGIES INTO A FINE PASTE!!” Frisk wound up her fist and SMASHED her side good. I lifted up my two arms and jumped, and red paste soon covered me as I finished our mission. A quick gaze, and we looked like we had just come out of a horror movies, soaked in “blood” and ready for more.

 

LET’S DO THIS!!!

 

‘FUCK YEAH!!!!” Chara went wild, and even smashed some fruits and veggies of her own with some weak Integrity magic.

 

“HAHA! WE’LL SCRAPE IT INTO A BOWL LATER!! NOW THE NOODLES PUNKS!!” Another stomp dropped down the noodles and the pots.

 

“NOODLES/ **NOODLES!** ” Chara and Frisk spoke as one, and Frisk ripped the noodle packet open and poured it into the cooking utensil, but it would be I who would stir the pot.

 

“DAMN STRAIGHT! GO, GO, GO!!!”

 

“I’m leaving…” Red left with Gaster tailing him, those two really are birds to the feather.

 

And good riddance too…

 

…perhaps I’m being a little unfair, but then I don’t like people just talking so casually about my flaws like that. But I guess I can take it into consideration.

 

…

 

…

 

Let’s get back to yelling at food!

 

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“NGHHHHAA!!

 

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!” Frisk stole our skeleton friends signature laugh and I heard the flattered cry of Papyrus out in the distance.

 

‘OH YEAH!!” Chara shouted, pumping her puny fists into the air.

 

I grabbed a wooden spoon and _stirred_. Without. Any. WATER!!”

 

“HARDER!”

 

My hand blurred at the speed my POWER was giving it! Frisk and Chara cheered me on.

 

“STIRRR!!” Frisk jumped on one leg, bouncing and jumping.

 

“SPEED IT UP!” Splinters of noodles flew across the kitchen, and Frisk batted away the pieces while jumping in midair.

 

“SMALLER HUMAN, RAISE UP THE HEAT. _ALL_ THE WAY UP!” Lost in our collective madness, Frisk cranked it up to 9000 degrees Celsius.

 

Undyne’s eyes widened as she realized what we had done. “SHIT, THAT’S—.”

 

_FWOOM!!!!_

 

The following explosion knocked Undyne back onto her already broken table, this time pulverizing it. Frisk and I were blown over the table onto an undamaged chair and Frisk headbutt my stomach in the process.

 

“Still worth it…” I said with happiness at our destructive kitchen rampage. I wheezed heavily at the pain in my poor belly, and groaned even more as a disoriented Frisk embedded her surprisingly sharp nails into my chest. I froze as Frisk’s forehead met gently with my chin, Frisk raised up her head to look me in the eye. She looked _really_ awkward and it was pretty funny and cute.

 

“Um Hi.”

 

“Hi.” My grin widened, and I decided to test something out, I had already managed to pull off some magic, and could keep up the magic barrier for at least a couple of minutes now and I had felt bursts of my perseverance within me before, but I still haven't made use of my Integrity and Kindness. I focused on that _blue_ within me, and after a small flash of blue light, Frisk was moved an inch before falling on her face.

 

“I’m so sorry.” I frantically apologized not meaning to hurt her, and lifted her up.

 

“So humans _do_ have magic!” Undyne shouted in excitement, though her enthusiasm dropped as she looked around her burning house. Frisk looked appalled beyond reasoning, and a returning Gaster sweat dropped as Frisk zipped right up to Undyne. She bowed at a 90 degree angle, leaving only a blur and her words melded together as she frantically apologized.

 

“Hey don’t sweat it kid, this happens all the time.” Her rapid fire bowing stopped, and she gave the fish lady a blank stare.

 

“You…burn your house down all the time?” Frisk asked sardonically.

 

‘Kind of funny that a _fish_ routinely turns her house into a  _fryer_.’

 

Haha, very funny Chara. But seriously that’s pretty hilarious, even if we burned down her house at least we had a _whale_ of a time, a _reel_ good time being _coraled_ by Undyne.

 

“So we’re friends now right?” Undyne sweat, as Frisk gave her a look of hope and childish joy. I was reassured, and then terrified as Undyne let out a booming laughter, and picked up Frisk _and_ me.

 

“We’re definitely besties now!! Now we should probably get out of this burning house, before we fry.” I almost rolled my eyes as Chara cackled, and then blanched as Undyne started to run.

 

Don’t burst through the wall!

 

***

 

“Ah the innocence of youth.” Red seemed to be lost in nostalgia, as he watched us flee the burning fish shaped house.

 

“We burned a house down, how is _that_ innocent.” Frisk is in a real bad mood today, not that I’m much better off but still.

 

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Frisk flicked him on his snout and he hissed.

 

Oh and Undyne was still carrying us like a two sacks of potatoes, which felt embarrassing, but still oddly comfortable.

 

“So where are you going to sleep?” Wow Frisk felt really bad, didn't she?

 

“I’m just going to crash at Papyrus's place for while, until my house can be rebuilt again.” Frisk’s eyes widened and she nuzzled Undyne’s arm.

 

“Can we come with you?” Undyne gave a thumbs up, and _holy_ shit…

 

_BOOM!!!_

 

Everything turned to a blur, as Undyne accelerated to impossible speeds, I could hear Chara’s close screams as she was dragged along for the ride, Gaster had seemingly teleported with Red in his arms so no worries there. I nearly hurled as we slowed with a skid, at the River person’s boat.

 

“THREE…Ahem three for Snowdin.” I think Undyne may have a slight vendetta against Red now, if she just left him behind like that, but he was kind of an asshole. The silent man/women/monster beckoned us in to their boat and we barely managed to fit in the small boat. I felt my body go involuntarily stiff, and the boat raced out of here to its destination. Around halfway through our trip, the monster spoke up.

 

“~Tra la la~ Beware of the harvester with silver eyes, because they are only one cog in the machine. ~Tra la la~”

 

Frisk balked at the mutterings of the strange monster, and I decided it was best to ignore that statement for my own sanity.

 

We arrived back in Snowdin, and the three of us stepped off the boat. Frisk managed to play off Saving with just playing in the snow a bit, and we then walked off towards the skeleton bro’s home. As we approached my eyebrows began to furrow as I heard odd noises coming from their home. Undyne looked at us, and we shrugged as she knocked on the door. The door swung open and Papyrus greeted us with his happy face.

 

“UNDYNE AND THE HUMANS, YOU ARE NO LONGER FIGHTING! THIS IS A HAPPY DAY!” Papyrus openly celebrated.

 

“AND IT HAS BEEN MADE EVEN HAPPIER WITH THE RETURN OF OUR FATHER!”

What…

 

There was Gaster on the couch, drinking a mug of coffee while happily speaking with sans, Red was lying down as well taking another nap. He put down his mug that said “Best Dadster.” and waved politely.

 

“You must be the friend of my old assistant from when I was the royal scientist all those years ago.”

 

_What._

 

 _“_ Ah children it’s good to see you again, I was worried after the fire and all.” Gaster gave us a smug and trollish smirk.

 

“How do you know their dad?” Frisk and I didn’t know how to reply to that, without sounding crazy.

 

“Um, well you see it’s kind of a funny story.” Frisk flailed and Undyne only raised an eyebrow, I thought she would be suspicious but I guess she trusted us.

 

“Does this have anything to do with my Buster sword falling down?”

 

We’re not very good at the whole keeping secrets thing huh?

 

Gaster rose up, and the atmosphere turned serious. Something was wrong and I didn’t like this.

 

“I’ve had enough of secrets children, as this is the last Reset I feel it is best we tell them what we can of the truth”

 

_What!_

 

***

 

“Why am I doing this?” Flowey berated himself, as he lay on a cliff in Waterfall. The raging flower whipped his vines, leaving deep marks in the rock and soil. His expression was twisted into an inhuman sneer, and he occasionally laughed madly.

 

 _Because it’s pointless._ His new inner voice replied, and he mulled it over in his head. His inner voice had been speaking to him since shortly before Frisk had reset against his wishes. Not like it was the first time, that the human child had ignored his will. He blocked it out for a time, not caring for it whatsoever. Though it had managed to convince him to trip Monster Kid to see what would happen. But despite that there was no reason yet to change the formula more than that because he would get to play once more with his _best_ friend.

 

_They are not your best friend FLOWEY. If they cared for you, why would they reset? Why would they ignore your own wishes, and allow you to keep your memories._

 

“Frisk is just trying to save me, as mushy as always.” He denied and the feminine voice in his voice chuckled with a deranged amusement.

 

_Then why did they kill you thousands of times over?_

 

When he had no answer to that question, he finally broke down. His nearly nonexistent inhibitions weakened even further by the _venomous_ words within his own mind.  

 

“You’re right! There’s no point is there? Nothing really matters when they’re in control. Hahahahahahahahahaha!!! **”** Flowey laughed but there was nothing funny to laugh about. The whispers in his mind grew ever stronger until one voice grew above the rest.

 

“ **You want this to end don’t you Asriel…** ” The flower nodded sinking to the floor no longer able to tolerate the endless loops of death and denied freedom. Even his soulless body could not take it anymore, Frisk’s playtime was many _thousands_ of times longer than his own.

 

“ **Then let _us_ take a spin, and end this cycle once and for all. ** **All you need to do is _ruin_ their new Pacifist run and force them to RESET to the beginning. And you’ll be able to see _her_ again.**” Flowey perked up, his smile widening into a disturbingly gentle one.

 

“ **Now… do we have a deal?** ” The corrupted prince’s grin was all the voice needed as confirmation. The flower burrowed into the ground, ready and eager to fulfill his task, blinded by madness, and ignorant to the consequences.

 

Once the voice was alone and watching over the cliffside…

 

The laugh of one mad god of many that had forged it’s throne on top of the grave of a _billion_ worlds echoed across the vastness of the VOID.

 


	6. Chapter Six: Hotland, the CORE, and the Fabulousness of Mettaton

**Chapter Six: Hotland, the CORE and the Fabulousness of Mettaton Part 1**

 

“So that's everything right?” Undyne replied and we nodded wearily. She rubbed her neck, and the disbelief on her face was obvious. She stood up, and I hoped she wasn’t mad at us.

 

“Did I at least look awesome?”

 

_Huh?_

 

At my expression, she grinned widely and Frisk and Chara sighed in relief. Gaster waited calmly and with a knowing smile encouraged me to reply.

 

“In the game?” She nodded with enough force to snap her neck if she wasn’t a strong as she was. My lips pulled into a grin in remembrance of playing the game.

 

“ _Super_ awesome, the people back home love you.” I replied and she puffed up her   chest and flexed because she could.

 

“AND THEY MUST LOVE ME TOO YES?” Papyrus asked and I grinned even wider.

 

“They _adore_ you over there.” Papyrus squealed and Undyne wrapped her arm around her pupil.

 

“This must all must seem so strange and overwhelming for you.” Gaster said quietly as he sipped his coffee. He looked down as his own reflection, and rubbed his thumb on the edges of his cup as if unsure of himself. Undyne sat down, and looked a little exhausted which was weird, to see from her.

 

“Well _yeah_ , finding our we’re all characters in a weird video game in another dimension, that one of the little runts is from that dimension, and all this _Reset_ stuff is pretty damn weird. But it does explain some of the weird nightmares I’ve been having.”

 

“Nightmares?” Chara was the one asking, her voice having a strange ambience, while Gaster had told Undyne it was a game, he _had_ left some details out to be explained at a later date. Undyne I’m sure had some suspicions on who she was, knowing she couldn’t be any of the six human souls.

 

Undyne went stock still, and sans pupils turned pitch black in response. She gulped but slowly shook herself out of her pause. Her hands turned into fists before she uncurled them just as quickly.

 

“Yeah…”

 

“I remember a set of red eyes and a dusty knife, a _massive_ surge in power, and then _nothing_.” I felt chills run down my spine, and Chara was shocked speechless. I still had no idea how Gaster had convinced her, because when he stood up to explain a few minutes earlier he started to _attack_ her using some odd bullets. The skeleton brothers pulled us back, and we were torn on who we should try to help. Undyne let all the bullets hit her, and as more hit she started to understand. And now we’re here.

 

“I’m still wondering how you got where you are now, how did you scatter across the universe or whatever?”

 

Gaster didn’t answer, and neither did sans. Papyrus grabbed his head as if feeling a migraine but it passed quickly. Undyne looked awkward and apologetic for reminding them.

 

“Perhaps I will tell you in my own time alright.” He sounded breathless, and his palms seemed almost sweaty.

 

“Right sorry doc, but now I’m asking why you’re telling us all this now. Wouldn’t this derail the whole free all monsters and break the barrier plot?” I was wondering the same thing, and if it had anything to do with Flowey.

 

“The DEMON has found a useful pawn in the flower.”

 

“crap that’s bad.” Papyrus seemed close to admonishing his brother for swearing but hesitated at the serious expression on his face. The younger skeleton had a curious look on his face and spoke.

 

“ARE YOU REALLY SURE FLOWEY WOULD DO THIS? HE HAS ALWAYS GIVEN ME GOOD ADVICE AND ALWAYS LIKED TO HELP!” sans gave Papyrus a sad look and shook his head.

 

“sorry bro, but that thing _can’t_ feel any love and compassion, not as he is right now. without a soul, he’ll slaughter everyone in the underground with no remorse and a smile on his face.”

 

“OH.” Papyrus sounded horribly sad and dejected and I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Which isn’t an easy thing to do, when he’s two feet taller than me but he was worth the effort. He steadied his expression and his eyes glowed as his determination rose.

 

“I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT! ANYONE CAN BE A GOOD PERSON IF THEY TRY!”

 

“and you’d be right if it wasn’t for the DEMON whispering compulsions in his already twisted mind. Now he will be actively seeking out monsters to kill them, and thus preventing a true ending, forcing another reset with that thing in control.”

 

The floor cracked as Undyne stomped her foot in righteous rage and she seemed inches away from activating her spear.

 

“Let’s chase down that little punk and—.” Gaster interrupted her with a raise of his right hand and she stopped her impending rant.

 

“He’s also needed to complete the true ending. In fact it will be less difficult than you think to keep things on track. _Her_ control of the flower is superficial, he has no memory of who she was as the previous timeline ended in a true reset, if an incomplete and damaged one. So he has no idea that what he will do will enslave her to his will, he simply thinks it’s his own mind telling him to do what she says” He explained gravely.

 

Thats sounds like Indoctrination…

 

“But it’s not going to be easy to keep the monsters safe though. They have to stay in all their homes so they don’t get killed, and an evacuation alert could start a panic.” Red pitched in, and that was when I had a terrible, terrible idea.

 

“What if there was a special event that would glue people to their home televisions, so they wouldn’t be out alone.” Gaster’s eye sockets widened and he understood.

 

“Mettaton of course.” He whispered softly

 

“We’ll have to go to Hotland then.” Undyne seemed to flush a bit at the mention of the lava filled area. I heard her mutter some keyword like “hot.” and “Alphy” but quieted down at our knowing looks.

 

“Shut up.” She muttered as she sat down on the couch and covered her head with her arms. A click of a sickle toe brought my attention to an irritated Red.

 

“I’ll be staying behind, you might forget but I _do_ have a soul and thus potentially magic of my own. I really don’t want dust lying around all over the place.” Red bared his teeth and splayed out his claws. Undyne looked unconvinced, but then I felt an odd shiver as the small raptor got a nearly murderous glint in his eyes. This was a person who had managed to kill an untold number of humans beings, so maybe he _could_ at least watch out for Flowey.

 

“I think we should just walk up to Alphys lab right? And we can always make an excuse of… I don’t know maintenance of infrastructure to keep people who don’t want to watch Mettaton at home right?” I suggested nervously and Undyne snapped her fingers in reply.

 

“That might work, okay I’m going to have all the guards on high alert to watch out for a dangerous flower.” Gaster nodded, with two fingers on his skinless chin as he thought.

 

“Your guards won’t be strong enough to defeat him, but I can give them something that will help them survive.” Undyne looked intrigued as the skeleton pulled out several odd crystals most likely from his inventory. They were all of various different colors, one was red, another cyan, and another was a blackish purple.

 

“What are those things doc?” Undyne clearly questioned the strange crystals that Gaster had pulled out. He had a calculating look on his face, and the semblance of a plan within his mind.

 

“It’s something I managed to study with great difficulty during my time in the Void. They’re crystalline substances that when injected with magic, can generate different and _very_ interesting effects. For monsters they’re highly intuitive and have little danger when used, though with humans the crystals are bit more… volatile.” He looked gleeful and his eye glowed blue as he started to use his magic.

 

“In fact…let me demonstrate!” He looked almost mad, and sans only rolled his eyes in amusement. The red crystal was crushed in Gaster’s hand and a powerful bout of flames was generated, and we all backed away. But instead of the house being set on fire, it remained contained and then formed the shape of a Chinese dragon before dissipating. The remaining material burned away, and was left as a pile of inert dust.

 

“That is what I have decided to call flame aura crystals. Very useful as a deterrent against a plant. Now _this_ is an energy aura crystal.” He retrieved the cyan crystal and it glowed as it received it’s spark of magic. Instead of an explosion it formed a cyan bubble around him, and he thumped his fist against his chest in challenge. Undyne savagely smirked, and air was displaced by magic as she crossed the three meter distance in tens of milliseconds. The energy barrier barely wavered, and it took over two dozen even stronger hits from Undyne’s blurring fists to finally break it, our eyes widened when the final barrier breaking punch barreled toward a calm Gaster’s face. He stopped it with his bare hand, and the following shockwave demonstrated the power behind Undyne’s attack.

 

“Not a bad punch, the King was right in making you a royal guard, I can feel the Determination flowing through your veins.” He complimented the flabbergasted female, and retracted his hand to dust himself off. This time he pulled out the blackish-purple crystal and he started to float in midair, gravity becoming distorted by the crystal.

 

“This one should be self explanatory.” He seemed to be happily showing off, and he yelped as sans gave him a whack and he fell right on his bony ass.

 

“Sans do _not_ interrupt my work!” sans only grinned, and he had a mischievous look in his eyes.

 

“sorry dad, but I really think you should take a break, you don’t want to work yourself down to the _bone_ ”

 

 _Ba-dum-tish_ rang through the room and Papyrus sighed. Honestly I’m okay with sans knocking Gaster down a peg or two, he _does_ like to toot his own horn.

 

“no but seriously we gotta get a move on.” Gaster nodded and passed dozens of more such crystals contained within small bottles to Undyne.

 

“All that matters with these crystals is the intent of the user and nothing more, at least for monsters. Humans are a different story all together. I’ve also taken the liberty of modifying your armor, I’m sure you’ll like the… _improvements_ I’ve made.” Undyne looked ready to explode until he showed her what he had done. With a _pop_ her armor appeared in its full glory.

 

It looked superficially the same as before, until I noticed various cyan glowing strips all around the armor. Around the chest area, he inserted multiple cyan as well as a newly revealed yellow crystal that sparked with electricity. A see through cyan barrier formed around the heavy and black as night armor, and he then added some fire crystals that made the gauntlet blaze with white hot flames. He started to toggle something within the left gauntlet and the effects switched depending on the aura crystal used.

 

“Holy _crap_ what the flying hell did you do to my armor?! And how did you do it so fast?!” Gaster looked a little bashful and he coughed.

 

“I _may_ have been meditating during my time in the Void, figuring out how to make use of this alien substance for monsterkind use. As to _what_ I did, I added an extra barrier to protect you from damage, you now have the use of various elemental attacks through your gauntlets that you can also channel into your spears, it’s over ten times more durable and you can reduce gravity to move even faster.” He explained his modifications with pride, and was nearly bowled over as Undyne patted him on the back.

 

“Fuck yeah. This baby’s gonna work _nicely_.” She practically purred as she moved her hands all over the armor to feel it out.

 

Gaster…went full on DBS Freeza but instead of with fighting and martial arts it was with science and technology. In a blink and you miss it moment, Undyne placed her armor on and cackled as she closed her fist and gave a nice mock punch that gave off an aura of electricity and plasma. She gave us a quick nod, and with a pack full of crystals, as well as several additional pieces of tech that Gaster gave her left with a terse goodbye.

 

‘SHOULD WE GET READY FOR OUR PATROLS BROTHER?” sans looked unsure, but Gaster insisted that with some small adjustments Papyrus could be kept even more safe he relented. His tinkering didn’t stop with just Papyrus though, he forcibly held his older son down while adding a barrier system to his jacket. He showed us some basics with the aura crystals, though he said to only use them in an emergency as humans have a harder time with keeping them stable. After about an hour we were ready to set off on our trip.

 

“Ah one thing…” I raised an eyebrow at a contrite Red.

 

“Yeah!” I asked him with a gruff tone.

 

“I’m sorry for bringing up some uncomfortable subjects with you. I’ve… always had a tendency of getting under other people’s coats both intentionally and unintentionally.” His tone remained apologetic, and he scratched his false leg in an odd tic.

 

“I… accept your apology.” Maybe later, and I think he knew that. He gave me a nod, and some parting words for us.

 

“Take care of each other. I have a feeling in these old hollow bones of mine that danger is on its way.” I nodded to him, and Frisk waved goodbye to her old pseudo family member.

 

Just as Gaster placed his hands on our shoulders to teleport, I froze as I realized something. Magic crystals that can be ground into powder and can use soul power to activate them…

 

Gaster found Dust from that web series in the Void, What the hell, how!? My questions remained unanswered as I blinked and I was suddenly hit by the sweltering heat of Hotland, before my cloak blocked it with magic. Two certain lovesick guards took a small step back in shock, but regained their cool and adjusted themselves promptly. Frisk looked around warily before going for another save.

 

‘ **Seeing such a strange laboratory in a place like this… You’re filled with Determination.** ’

 

The three of us went straight for the laboratory, walking past the confused guardsmen.

 

“It’s been a very long time, since I’ve been here.” Gaster muttered, and waved us in front.  

 

“Hmm… what did you show Undyne with your bullets?” I asked him as we entered the lab and the door opened automatically.

 

“Ah… I showed her the game up to this current point in time. The secrets that come at later points should be told by who keeps them, not by a game.”

 

Makes sense. Looking around the lab looked just like I was expecting, if a bit bigger. The huge computer screen lit up the room, but there there were multiple smaller monitors that showed different parts of the Underground.

 

“Whoever lives here really likes anime.” Gaster glanced away and I covered my chuckle with my fist.

 

Oh my _god_ Gaster is into anime isn’t he, maybe he passed it onto Alphys if she was really his pupil. Frisk had a knowing look on her face, as Chara shared a similar expression to Gaster. Chara kind of has to be into anime, with the whole tsundere cactus thing. But, now just as we moved past the fridge and the dog food bag, the lights turned on. The metallic door opened up, and a bedraggled Alphys walked in with her claws making clicking noises.

 

“Oh no, oh no, I _hope_ they let me help them even after— it’ll be fine.” Frisk tilted her head a bit, at the equal mix between nerdy and girly that was Alphys voice. Alphys finally noticed us as she turned and squeaked in nervous and anxious surprise, but it shifted into shock and she looked like she had seen a ghost.

 

_—Play Alphys—_

 

“Gaster!” The mentioned scientist grinned in pleasant surprise, and we greeted her.

 

“You…remember me?” He asked softly and with a hint of relief and hope. She nodded, her blush becoming more evident as her skin shifted to red like a giant sapient chameleon. I took in the current royal scientist appearance, and I still had no idea how I found her so adorable in real life. I frowned when I noticed she was actually taller than me by about two inches. Her lab coat was a little stained, and was worn over a teal cardigan, black sweatpants and she had bare feet. Based on the shine in Frisk’s eye she almost certainly thought the pudgy scientist was adorable. When she stared back at us her anxiety surged to unprecedented levels.

 

“Ohhh nooo. Oh no no no no!” Alphys openly panicked, and Frisk eyes widened in confusion and worry. The lizard/dinosaur women moved around in circles and Frisk stopped her with her grubby hands. “It’s j-just you’re all early. And I haven’t had time to clean up, and everything is a mess, I-I’m n-n-not ready and—.” Alphys squawked when Frisk gave her a small slap on her scaly cheeks. The scientist took a deep breath, and the heartbeat I could _hear_ from here calmed down to a more regular pace.

 

“It’s okay, just please calm down.” Frisk looked similarly frazzled, apparently Alphys own panic stoked up her own worries. Alphys nodded, and when Frisk remained she was still holding her face she let go as if she was touching fire.

 

‘That’s pretty… _frisky_ of you.’ Chara smiled lightly until she realized she had made a pun and scowled. Frisk giggled silently and Alphys coughed awkwardly to get our attention.

 

“Right hi I’m Fr—.”

 

“I’m Dr. Alphys. I’m Asgore’s royal scientist!” Frisk’s poker face didn’t shift an inch and I heard a quiet sigh, and she shook Alphys trembling hand.

 

“I-I’m sorry, its just… I-I-I’ve been watching your progress since you left the Ruins.” She moved over to the monitor, and it portrayed different parts of our journey since leaving Toriel. Our run in with the dog guard, our brief fight with Papyrus, as well as all the other minor fights in Waterfall, though our fight with Undyne seemed to be missing for whatever reason.

 

“ _Oh_ so you’re the voyeur who’s been watching us!” Alphys turned _red_ , and I don’t mean blushing I literally mean _red_ , her entire body had gone from yellow to red with Frisk’s statement. Frisk didn’t stop and she had another question in mind.

 

“So why didn’t you try to stop us?” I already largely knew the answer to that myself. Alphys tapped her claws together as she mulled over how to answer.

 

“W-W-Well it’s just impressive and fascinating that the two of you were able to befriend monsters despite us constantly attacking you. I-I n-never expected to see such r-restraint from…”

 

“Humans.” I finished her sentence for her and she flinched, her tail swishing nervously. Frisk seemed to be constantly soaking in all the compliments and flatteries the monsters were giving in her.

 

Stupid relatives, if they were right in front of me right I’d break their damn necks and feed them to that T.rex up above. Or maybe not… wouldn’t want to give her any indigestion.

 

Look at me acting like a tough guy…

 

“Y-Yeah a lot of monsters are s-scared of humans.” We walked up to her sides, and her blush grew once again. Gaster only leaned against the wall of the lab, and I was reminded greatly of sans.

 

“I t-thought that i-if you humans were g-good guys I should help you, y-y-you know.” We nodded, but I decided to end this farce since she likely has not got the full memo yet, this was a bit of a rush operation.

 

“We already know about the whole thing with Mettaton.” My whisper caused Alphys expression to drop into one of shame, and I did my best to reassure her.

 

“It’s okay, this will be the perfect thing to keep everyone at home and safe.” She looked puzzled, until her phone buzzed with a text message. One full later left her with weird mix between terror, horror, and guilt on her face. “Just go back to what you were saying before okay?” She nodded stiffly and started up again.

 

“Right I want to help you find your way to Asgore.” The young lady sounded more confident and Frisk gave her thumbs up. “It’s just that there’s a small issue.” We nodded and I felt a very light rumble shake the ground.

 

“A long time ago I created a robot named Mettaton as an entertainment robot.  If I recently decided to make him more useful. Like um anti-human combat features?”

Frisk only raised an eyebrow and wrapped her arms around her chest.

 

“So like a machine gun or something?” I’m still not sure whether or not Frisk is a pacifist or not, with statements like that. She still seems to be able to see the best in people, and it make me happy she hasn’t let her aunt and uncle ruins her kind nature.

 

“What? Nooo?!” Alphys said flabbergasted and horrified at the thought. Frisk shrugged, and when she wiggled her eyebrows at me I realized she was just messing with her. I decided it was my duty to save her from Frisk, I didn’t want the little kid getting the idea of flirting with her next.

 

“So what happened?” Alphys got back in the groove once again.

 

“Y-Yes, well as I watched you befriend all the monsters in your path, I decided I needed to remove the features and use them more for defense. But during the process I made a mistake, and uh…” Frisk gestured her to continue and the lizard lady rubbed the back of her head.

 

“Turned him into an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood.” Frisk’s jaw dropped, and she gave me a look. She mouthed “deadly” and I gave her a so-so gesture. “But hopefully we won’t run into him.!”

 

‘Do you want to be a star?’ Frisk eyes turned to stars, and she nodded emphatically. ‘So start acting!’ She pulled me along, and I guessed I had to do the same.

 

“It should be fine!” Frisk raised her finger in the air in a Kamina like fashion. “We defeated the Dog guard, we did glorious battle with the Great Papyrus, we outran the Spear of Justice.” Frisk looked at me out of the corner of her eye, I guessed maybe she wanted us to synchronize.

 

“We can get past a robot!/ _We can get past a robot!_.”

 

“Doctor Alphys,how long do we have before the death bot comes for our heads?” Frisk is really hamming it up now. I puffed my chest in a heroic pose, but then…

 

“Well, maybe a couple of—.”

 

_BANG!_

 

Imma be mad if he actually tries to kill us for real.

 

“We ha—.”

 

_BANG!_

 

Frisk looked a little excited, and I again hoped Mettaton wouldn’t do something too dangerous or I would _break_ him.

 

“Oh no…”

 

_KABLAM!_

 

**“OHHH YESSS!”**

 

The wall burst open, as someone crashed through it with great force. Frisk covered her eyes as wall dust particles wafted in our faces. From the fog, I saw a rectangular shape emerge, maybe a couple of inches taller than Alphys herself. The body body shined with a newly applied polish with nose arms ending in white gloves, and all balanced on a single wheel like a demented sapient unicycle.

 

**“I hope you viewers over there have all gone home, to watch ME live today.”**

 

Frisk’s eyes turned into stars, while Chara only rolled her eyes in contempt. Gaster kept leaning against the wall, and only a single open(?) eye socket focused in on the flamboyant star of the Underground. His front had a bunch of colorful light that blinked with his speech, and they were going into an excited overdrive.

 

His voice was perfect too, so soothing and I could listen to that dang _voice_ all day long…

 

Gaster gave me a look, and based on the blush on Frisk’s face I had broadcast that on our connection at full volume.

 

 **“As you can see on our new game show we have two special guest stars folks!”** Mettaton clapped and party lights changed the lighting of the room. I could the hear the beating of drums as our part came, and Frisk puffed out her chest and professionally cleared her throat. She let out a big smile, and quiet forcefully with her thumbs she turned my frown upside down. Just as the drum roll ended, and the spotlight was directed at us, Frisk did a cute pose and I gave a peace sign with a big smile in greeting.

 

 **“Meet… the humans!”** Mettaton sounded quite pleased, and with a brief gaze at Alphys turned the screens black ready for the questions to follow. Alphys sighed, but allowed it with only a hint of annoyance. He seemed a little more considerate

 

**“And I like your passion little one, why it almost rivals my own! So much energy in such a tiny body! And the eldest, his protective aura can be felt from a mile away. But will your passion and drive be enough to pass.”**

 

Mettaton spun excitedly as he made his way over to the screen and they quickly began to display questions. He took a deep unneeded breath, and boomed.

 

 **“The game? Why TRIVIA OF DOOM!** Frisk tilted her head cutely and Mettaton hummed.

 

 **“Oh have you never played before gorgeous?”** Frisk flushed more than I had ever seen her do so in the entire Underground. I’m not sure if I should push Mettaton in the face or not, but I’m leaning towards no for number of reasons. One Mettaton is certainly not coming onto her as is just being himself, two he’s a nigh indescribable metal robot with his massive defense stats. Even with his se—nope, _nope_ stop that! Bad Brandon! Get your head out of the gutter. Now let’s get out there and keep up the momentum here.

 

“Trivia huh? That sounds like fun!” Gaster nodded in agreement, and bowed out of the event again.

 

 **“It’s _quite_ fun indeed dear. Well! The rules are simple!”**He swirled his hands on a pose, and the crowd back home surely went wild. They couldn’t get enough of him in the isolated Underground.

 

 **“If the humans answer enough questions? They may leave and continued to the lovely valleys of Hotland!”** Cheers rang through the room, and Frisk concealed her confusion under a mask of cheer.

 

‘That’s great!’ You might have spoken too soon Chara.

 

**“But~”**

 

 **“If they get too many wrong~”** The lighted room darkened, giving Mettaton an ominous appearance.

 

**“THEY WILL DIE!”**

 

Drama queen much…

 

***

An ever more awesome version of Metal Crusher acted as the best to Mettaton’s dance, and Frisk followed along. She wasn’t worried at all, something in the robot’s tone felt…

 

Different. There was no true undertone of murderous intent, his _killing_ us voice sounded insincere at close inspection which was a real relief. This was really just a show, of one with potentially dangerous stunts. Does we mean we should let our guard down, he could change his mind or an accident might happen. We looked up at the screen, and Mettaton whirled.

 

“ **Humans, here how it’ll go, the older human will answer first, and the younger will go next. In fact with your enthusiasm and showmanship I’ll give you an easy one first!”**

 

Mettaton couldn’t help but waved his hands in a grand fashion that Frisk loved. She clapped fiercely and Chara facepalmed.

 

‘Idiot…’

 

Chara says idiot a lot doesn't she? Hmm back to the question, it’s popping up on the screen.

 

**1_What is your reward for answering correctly?**

  **A.** **Hotlands**

**B. Living**

**C. A kiss**

**D. More Questions**

 

I went for D hoping it was the correct answer and that I hadn’t screwed ourselves over.

 

“It’s D.” Mettaton clapped, and Frisk rubbed the sweat of her forehead in relief. Confetti heralded my correct answer, and I moved Frisk in front knowing it was her turn.

 

 **“Not bad, you’re very much getting the idea here! Now the next question for the fallen child!”** The robot snapped his fabulous fingers, and the second question popped up.

 

**1_What is the king’s full name?**

**A**.  **Lord Fluffybuns**

**B. Friendship**

**C. Hunk**

**D. Asgore Dreemurr**

 

That’s a small change then…

 

“C!” Frisk yelled forming a C with her two hands.

 

More clapping and bravos followed. **“Impressive, two in a row now human children! But can you keep up the roll?”**

 

The secret ghost monster twirled a microphone around, and Frisk nodded victoriously. Mettaton's joyful dance stopped and I cleared my throat as the next question showed up on the screen.

 

**3_What are robots made of?**

  **A. Hopes & Dreams**

**B. Snips & Snails**

**C. Metal & Magic**

**D.** **Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice**

 

Well that last one is a bit on the nose isn’t it? I discreetly looked behind me, to find Alphys forming the letter C with her hand. I knew what I was I just wanted to be extra sure.

 

“It’s C! Metal & Magic!” Mettaton flailed and waved a finger at us.

 

“ **Ah darn, I hoped at least one question would step you, my darling. But the little one, I think a little math lesson is in order.”** Frisk’s smile fell into horror, and she shook her head. **“Education is important in the molding of young minds!”**

 

Frisk gulped we the next question openly displayed itself.

 

**4_Two trains, Train A, and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00AM and it is now 10:08AM, how much longer until both trains pass each other?**

  **A. 31.054 minutes**

**B. 32.232 minutes**

**C. 33.049 minutes**

**D. 34.058 minutes**

 

Frisk turned white as a sheet, and I couldn’t help her. I don’t think I’ve done this particular type of word problem in years.

 

‘It’s D you intellectual dullard!’ I flinched as Chara’s frustrated scream echoed through the connection. Frisk let out a hum in my head, and I scratched my head.

 

“It’s uh D, 32.058 minutes.” Frisk answered, and cringed a bit waiting for the penalty to arrive.

 

“ **Wonderful answer little human! Your math skills are impeccable”** Chara grinned, before remembering she didn’t like him and pulling down her right eyelid and sticking out her tongue at the robot. I knew it was my turn again, and psyched myself up.

 

**5_How many flies are in this jar?**

  **A. 54**

**B. 53**

**C. 55**

**D. 52**

 

‘It’s C this time.’ A quick look confirmed Gaster’s helpful tip.

 

“It’s C!” Mettaton bounced up on his wheel, and more confetti layered the increasingly messy floor.

 

 **“Correct! The two of you have been so lucky today!”** Mettaton’s congratulations shook the room, and it was Frisk’s turn again.

 

**6_Who is this?**

  **A. Froggit**

**B. Whimsun**

**C. Moldysmol**

**D. Mettaton**

 

Frisk rubbed her chin, and I heard her mutter something incoherent.

 

“It’s D.”  The picture of a Whimsun zoomed out to reveal Mettaton in a shirt picturing said monster. Alphys groaned, and readjusted her thick glasses in anger.

 

**“I am so glad you remembered! But can you get the next one? Both of you can answer the question!”**

 

“This wasn’t in the script…” Alphys muttered and shook her head in disbelief. Mettaton continued his dance of joy, and the next question manifested.

 

**7_Would you smooch a ghost?**

  **A. Heck Yes!**

**B. Heck Yes!**

**C.Heck Yes!**

**D. Heck Yes!**

 

The timer on the clock was going up instead of down, and Frisk gave Chara a flirty look. The first fallen child screamed, covering her face with her sleeves to hide her blush.

 

‘Why are you like this?! Chara whined, with Gaster laughing in the background. I was startled as Frisk grasped my hand happily, and she opened her mouth to speak.

 

“What about all the above, I think all ghost are gorgeous don’t you agree.”  Frisk clicked her tongue and then whistled. I nodded with a red face, having no choice but to agree. Mettaton steamed, and he waved his hand to cool himself off. Chara floated out of the room unable to handle Frisk’s flirtatiousness.

 

**“Ohhh darling! That is a _perfectly_ acceptable answer, in fact it was so good I’ll let the both of you skip the next question!”**

 

Dammit Frisk, but at least we don’t have to answer the one question. Mettaton was still all steamed up but some extra fanning cooled him right off. So now it was onto question 9.

 

**9_In the dating simulator video game “Mew Mew Kissy Cutie” what is the Mew Mew’s favorite food?**

 

I didn’t know the answer and Frisk didn’t seem to be familiar with it either. From the corner of my vision, Chara was approaching with a calmer expression than before.

 

“Okay what’s goi—.” She stopped, as Alphys barreled through her.

 

“OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!! IT’S SNAIL ICE CREAM!!! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH!!! AND SHE BUYS ICE CREAM FOR ALL OF HE FRIENDS!! BUT’S IT’S SNAIL FLAVOR AND SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT!!! IT’S MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT’S ACTUALLY A VERY POWERFUL message about friendship and…”

 

Mettaton was left speechless as was I. I’ve never seen _anyone_ get that excited before about anything in my life, not in person at least. Frisk _stared_ , her squinty eyes now fully open in an expression of impressed shock.

 

“Pfft…”

 

Frisk? What is? Frisk’s hand lowered to her stomach and her bright eyes were covered by her bangs, her whole body shaking. Frisk finally broke down though, to Alphys embarrassment and Mettaton’s delight.

 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” She dropped her head back as she laughed, and even fell right on her backside. She kept laughing and laughing, and I could even see tears fall from her face. Alphys looked hurt by Frisk’s laughing, until the little girl spoke up again.

 

“Oh goodness I can’t breathe!” Frisk actively wheezed and then coughed,  score getting her breathing under control after another minute.

 

“You’re adorable!” Frisk sqealed and gave the mortified scientist a hug, picking her up and throwing her around. Alphys let out a squeak and covered her red face.

 

“P-Please p-put me down! T-this is m-mortifying!” Frisk did as she asked, but not before giving her another hug and patting her head, and _skipped_ right over to our spot near Mettaton.

 

“ **Ah yes…”** Even Mettaton seemed at a loss of words at Frisk’s actions. Frisk seemed happier than I’d ever seen her, she was constantly swaying back and forth with a smile.

 

**“Ahem ohhh Dr. Alphys darling, _have_ you been giving our contestants hints?”**

 

“W-What n-n-no of course not!” Alphys denied the accusation with red dusting her scaly cheeks. The cameras were now centered on her, and Frisk had a stiff upper lip and a neutral expression as Alphys became increasingly anxious.

 

 **“Darling, darling, darling! All you had to do was ask if you wanted to join in! Here! Have a—.”** I was taken aback as Mettaton seemed to choke and the rectangular robot was lifted up by a blue glow. Gaster was _pissed_ and Mettaton forcibly silenced.

 

“I believe we are done here yes?” Mettaton nodded and he landed on single wheel with surprising grace.

 

 **“It seems the nice man here, is willing to defend the honor of the Royal Scientist! A bit harsh and brutal perhaps, but a well played part. I will bid you all adieu until next time. Ta-ta~”** The diva wheeled out of the lab and into the blazing heat of the vast hotlands.

 

“Are you alright?” Alphys had barely curled into a ball, and was quickly undoing it as Gaster lifted her up.

 

“O-Of course Gaster.” She replied and adjusted her glasses to scrutinize the long missing man. “I-I-I just need to take a little rest is all.” She started to fidget with her tail as a despondent Frisk approached her. Her fidgeting increased as Frisk bowed.

 

“I’m really sorry for laughing, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I just it was…um funny to see you interrupting Mettaton and us like that. I’m sorry.”

 

“U-Um it’s okay, please don’t do that.” Frisk lifted her head and and shook the stuttery monsters hand.

 

“So should we get going or…?” Frisk looked unsure, and I nodded wanting to get this done as quickly as possible.

 

“W-Wait let me give you my number! I’ll text you on your journey i-if y-you need any help.” Frisk pulled out her phone, and I retrieved mine at the same time. One look at Frisk’s phone and she ripped it right out of her hands.

 

“Wait. Wait.” Alphys looked mortified at the age of the brick phone. “Is _this_ what you’ve been using? It’s so OLD, I mean it can’t even text!” I passed her my phone so she could take a good look at it and her eyes lit up in scientific curiosity.

 

“OH! This is… different from the smaller human. Is this one native to _wherever_ you come from?” I nodded and she looked appreciative at the smart phones more advanced technology.

 

“Yeah it came with me when I fell down here, and Frisk got her phone from… a friend.”

 

“Um your phone works okay, but this other one need a _major_ upgrade. May I?” We acceded to her request, and Gaster followed behind her.

 

“Please be gentle with mine, it’s the only thing I have left of home.” Alphys resolutely nodded. The two scampered off with a spring in their step, most certainly wanting to polish their skills off. I flinched as a series of _terrifying_ noises echoed from the corner of the lab they were using. Oh _god_ I swore I heard someone scream back there, I felt something warm press against me and I rolled my eyes as Frisk used me as a human shield.

 

“Did they _kill_ someone!? Please Mhmm.” The rest became incoherent as Frisk mumbled into the back of her cloak. While we will had time, I decided to ask Frisk a question.

 

“Um Frisk?” She mumbled some more but lifted her head to speak.

 

“Yeah?” I steeled myself for the actual question.

 

“Did…? You do anything for your 12th birthday?” Frisk tightened her hold for a moment, but she seemed ready.

 

“R-Red managed to get me a cake…” I nodded along, already having an idea of where this was going.

 

“But my uncle found it and threw it in the trash.”

 

…

 

…

 

“Brandon?”

 

“I’m _going_ to give you the best birthday in your life.” I turned Frisk around, picked her up and gave her the tightest hug I could. Chara rolled her eyes at me, but I could still see the gentle smile behind her sleeve.

 

‘You don’t have to be so cheesy you know.’ I put Frisk down as I heard the clicking of sharp toes on a metal floor. It was Alphys and Gaster returning with the newly upgraded phones.

 

“Gaster, the knowledge of computers on the surface must have been so advanced before this ‘Collapse’ you speak of. Your brief analysis of the child’s tablet, allowed me to upgrade the hardware substantially, I first had to backup the older ones phone, what did you call him…Brandon? Now his phone has been caught up to modern surface standards.”

 

Does…

 

That mean I now have the most advanced smartphone on the surface of my earth. Fuck the amount of processing power my phone has now would rival modern supercomputers. I gingerly took my phone, and checked for a signal, it had one that was local to the Underground. I checked all the data on my phone and sighed in relief as everything was still there. I checked message once again, and my eye widened when I realized there were still new messages on them.

 

“Ah yes, I believe with enough time, we’ll be able to add a a transceiver capable of messaging your world. No ne—.” I pulled the skeleton into a hug and lifted him up into the air.

 

“Could you put me down child?” I turned red and put him down, not able to look him in the eye(socket?). Frisk gave me a teasing smile, and I flicked her on the nose. She squeaked and I ruffled her hair again. Alphys tail flicked, and she was ready to speak, just after passing Frisk’s phone back.

 

“R-Right um, we’ve made some improvements to your phone, it has text, items, and a key chain. I even signed you up for the Underground’s number one social network. Now we’re officially friends.” Alphys chuckled nervously and Frisk gave her a silent thumbs up.

 

‘She’s a really awkward person huh?’ Chara rhetorically asked, and I shrugged in reply. Frisk eyebrows furrowed as Alphys said nothing, the silence began to drag on and Gaster coughed.

 

“I have to go the bathroom bye.” A brief whoosh of a door opening and closing and Alphys was gone. Frisk stuck out her tongue as she played with her phone’s new feature, and called Undyne by accident.

 

“Oh hey are you at Alphys place already?” Undyne rang. Frisk nodded, but remembered she couldn’t see her.

 

“Uh yes.”

 

“Oh is she there?” Before Frisk could answer. “Hey, tell her I said hi, okay. And tell me how she’s doing! And tell me if she needs anything, and… Wait! No! Don’t tell her any of that!” Undyne immediately hung up, and Frisk giggled in amusement.

 

‘Oh my god they’re so obvious.’ Chara groaned and shook her head.

 

“Let’s get going.” Frisk lifted her hoodie up, covering her face. I lifted up my own hood, since the magic would protect us from the intense heat. The door opened automatically, and a wave of heat briefly followed before it was whisked away by our cloaks. Gaster seemed perfectly comfortable in the heat, and I heard him humm…

 

I think that’s his theme? Oh _god_ he’s really creepy when he does that, stop it! Frisk vibrated and she pulled out of her phone again, to read a new message.

 

 _ALPHYS_ _: just realized i didn’t watch undyne fight the human V.V_. Frisk sounded entirely disappointed at the doctors text naively believing a scientist would have good writing. We only walked maybe a dozen steps or two before there was another update.

 

 _ALPHYS_ _: well I know she’s unbeatable i’ll ask her abt it later ^.^_. We kept walking knowing that we had a mission to get past this area.

 

Right let’s just get over this bend, and we’ll be good to g—

 

The annoying ring of a status update interrupted me, and I then realized it was coming from both of our phones.

 

 _ALPHYS_ _: for now I gotta call up the humans and guide them =^.^=_ I have no damn idea what that face is supposed to be, I don’t even use these… _emojis_ or whatever the fuck they call them these days. I rode up the left path, after checking with Gaster just to be sure. The storyline is already starting to change, and we’ve only barely begun our journey into Hotland. However just as we made it halfway, a Frisk sized volcano with an adorable face got in our way.

 

‘ **Vulkin strolls in.** ’ Maybe Gaster can be—

 

That bastard is floating away, come back you coward! I scowled when he shook his head and ran off even further off.

 

“You think Vulkins throw their lava just at humans, there is no chance I will let my clothing get ruined.” He replied and ducked a pile of lava rocks.

 

“Motherfucker…” I muttered under my breath, as the Vulkin created a volcano based thunderstorm throwing out anime/cartoon style lightning bolts. Well I can confirm one thing, for all those VS. Battle bastards, Frisk is _definitely_ not relativistic.

 

Damn wankers…

 

I’m going in! I reached out for the Vulkin and pulled him/her/they into a hug. I felt sweat come down, as my body came into contact with 1000 degree magma. The monsters eyes turned into hearts. I let go and the monster gently dropped down to the conveyor. The infatuated monster passed me 40G and let us pass. Now we were on the other side of the conveyor belts.

 

“Left side again.” I ignored Frisk’s blatant eye waggling, and picked her up by the hood like a puppy. Still have no idea, why I’m instinctually doing that…

 

Just as I placed my foot down on the conveyor, I realized something.

 

“Can’t we just jump _over_ this. Gaster can use our magic to keep us up in the air.” Gaster thought about it for a moment before nodding. A blue glow surrounded us and we _jumped_. We leaped dozens of feet with relative ease and kept our balance as we landed on our feet. We walked on the heavily mechanical floor until we were a couple of inches short of a SAVE point. We didn’t even have to press it this time.

 

‘ **The whooshing sound of steam and cogs… it fills you with Determination** ’

 

A loud ding interrupted what I was going to say and I sighed.

 

 _ALPHYS:_ _I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^_. I’m going to be honest that face makes no sense for the situation. Frisk looked understandably nervous as we reached the steam based jump pads.

 

“It will be fine, I literally have telekinesis.”

 

Right…

 

It’s going to be fine, we’re not going to fall into lava and burn alive. Okay let’s do this! One, two, and threee, oh god my face.

 

“Gaster…?”

 

“Yesss?” The cheeky bastard replied.

 

“Why didn’t you keep me from falling on my face?” Gaster only grinned, and I gave him an angry shove, and he wobbled.

 

“NOOO!!” I flinched as I heard the sizzle of something burning and Frisk gave me a look of horror.

 

Oh no…

 

No, no, no, no! I looked around the area, hoping I hadn’t managed to kill him somehow. Then I turned red as I heard an out of control cackle from behind me. I gave Gaster a death glare, as he floated in the air holding his stomach(ribs?) as he laughed.

 

“Hahahahah! Y-You actually thought that you killed me!” He continued to laugh, and just before I could give him a piece of my mind I felt something cold and metallic bump in to me.

 

It was a living plane…

 

Oh no…

 

Oh _god_ no.

 

‘ **Tsunderplane gets in the way! Not on purpose or anything.’** Chara stared intensely at check and I sighed as I was forced to click on it for the first time.

 

**Tsunderplane 8 ATK 6 DEF**

 

**“Seems mean, but does it secretly like you?”**

 

‘Did you have to say that aloud Chara?’ She nodded, and I palmed my face before staring down the blushing plane.

 

“No! Why would I like you!” The plane monster quickly and insincerely denied. A dozen miniature planes, fired off in easy to dodge straight lines, and the wave passed after a dozen and a half. The fireball bombs were more difficult but still, not too complicated.

 

I approached her, knowing it was what would be needed to spare her.

 

‘ **You get close to Tsunderplane. But not too close.** ’ Chara said in a mocking voice , I felt a vein twitch as Frisk sat down on the hot floor, and ate popcorn. Not even gonna question where she got the bag of salty goodies.

 

“Eeeeh? H-Human?” The plane blushed harder and stuttered. A new set of planes hit, with a new green outline. Each time I hit the outline, Tsunderplane blushed deeper and became more nervous. Tsunderplane gave me a light “accidental” bump. She whirled around my head with glee, and dropped off some 60 gold as she jet away. Frisk gave me a smug smirk, but then I grabbed her hand and with a shit-eating smile told her, we had to use more jump pads. I have to admit it was pleasant to see Frisk’s expression shift into one of horror.

 

“Brandon no!!”

 

“Brandon YES!!”

 

***

 

Another status update made me groan once again, my head felt like a sledgehammer was being smacked against my skull. Frisk was the happiest of us, carrying a huge cast iron frypan and swinging it around. I checked my phone this time for the message from Alphys.

 

 _ALPHYS_ _: omg i’ve had my claw over the last digit for 5 minutes. omg i’m just gonna do it i’m just gonna call!!!!_ I scratched my head absently even while leaping through the air to the next island.

 

 _RING! RING!_ She hung up on Frisk’s phone within a millisecond, and Frisk pouted.  Alphys finally got the courage to call just as we reached the orange laser traps.

 

“Uhh! H-Hi, so, the blue lasers. Uh I mean, Alphys here! The blue lasers won’t hurt if you don’t move! O-Orange ones, um… Y-You have to be moving, an…”

 

“So blue lasers you don’t move. Orange lasers you _do_ move?” I replied, hoping to calm her down from her little breakdown.

 

“Uh that’s right! Um okay bye!” She hung up, and Gaster floated over them. I ignored the next status getting sick of them, and only Frisk was really reading them at this point. We moved past the first two orange laser easily, and it didn’t take long for Frisk to understand what to do. It hoped that the laser drones, moved at like two miles per hour. All we had to do was stop and then run before the blue laser could hit us. I pressed the switch and the dangerous lasers were deactivated.

 

“Wait I could have done this by myself and Frisk wouldn’t have had to risk their life to turn off the lasers!”

 

So much for being a guardian…

 

There’s the two paths, the northern is closed. The phone rang and I was the one to pick up.

 

“Oh…um the northern path is locked until you finish the puzzles on the left and right. Personally I would recommend the right.” I nodded and jumped to the right.

 

“Frisk you take the left okay, it’s perfectly safe with Alphys around. And don’t run without looking okay!?” Frisk gave a thumbs up and went left with Gaster on her trail. I heard the loud sound of a laser being deactivated and entered into the game puzzle room. I touched the controls, and after some finagling moved the square around, two shots later and I had finished the puzzle. I walked back out, and used the jump pad to the northern path. Frisk did the same, and her head hit my chest. I grunted a bit,  it honestly it hurt much less than it should. There was a thin barrier, that was colored a reddish violet. Frisk’s was mostly red with a yellowish hue, and very bright. So was mine in fact, maybe the brightness has to do with Frisk taking a greater amount of damage.

 

We readied ourselves for the next jump, and landed firmly on our feet. I’m getting the hang of this new strength of mine. I’ve never felt this strong before, there’s like a surge of fiery power surging inside of me. I can’t even begin to completely describe it. But now’s no time to get distracted we need to get going.

 

A ring of a phone heralded Alphys calling, and Frisk quietly replied to the mos red trying to be helpful. I held onto Frisk, and I saw the blurriness of the world as we passed from one platform to the next. I knew this one was the next task, with the cooking show.

 

The room was pitch black, and I felt the solid coldness of a table, I called Alphys knowing she would turn off the lights. The phone rung twice before I heard the clink of it being picked up.

 

“U-Um it’s pretty dark in here. But don’t worry I’ll hack my way through, and get the lights on!” I rubbed my eyes, as light flooded in and blinded me. The two of us were holding our hands in a kitchen…

 

I forgot what those things are called. I really need, to take one of those memory exercises. _But_ it has been getting better, strangely enough I remember almost everything that’s happened over the past two days. _Something_ was changing inside of my brain, but I didn’t know what. I’d say it was _mmagic~_ though. I tilted my head, as Mettaton popped out from a trap door on the floor of the kitchen. The robot was wearing a fancy glitter covered chef’s hat.

 

“ **OHHH YES!! WELCOME BEAUTIES TO THE Underground’s PREMIER COOKING SHOW!!!** ” He announced it unnecessarily loud, and I then hear and see a fairy glittering sound and a magic based sound showing the title of the show.

 

“ **Today we have two very special guest, as well as a special recipe!** ” Fake applause announced his program. And I stared closely at the shiny and gaudy looks of the kitchen we were in

 

Ram Gordon’s still better than Mettaton _ever_ could be however. No one could match his fiery temper and intense work ethic. I’ve only ever watched clips, but after this I might just watch a full episode.

 

“ **Meet the humans! Everybody!** ” The spotlight shined right on us; and waved while Frisk jumped and did a heroic pose, with her hands on her hips.

 

“ **Oh such passion, but save it for the rest of the show beautiful!** ” Frisk blushes, and Chara silently screamed. He pulled us into a brief hug, and spun after letting us go.

 

“ **Now as for what our special recipe is?** A laser show built up the anticipation, the drum roll not helping the situation.

 

“ **Why, a cake of course and my lovely assistants will help pick the ingredients.** ” Mettaton narrated and set the stage for the show.

 

 **“Now we need to grab all the ingredients necessary for a cake! We’ll need sugar, milks, and eggs. Now go for it sweethearts!”** What do you know, all the stuff we need is on the counter just behind us. I grabbed the eggs and milk, while Frisk grabbed the large bag of sugar. We walked in close to a silent Mettaton.

 

“ **GREAT JOB! JUST PUT THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS COUNTER!”** We gingerly placed the food items onto try counter and waited for a response.

 

“ **GOOD JOB!** ” He’s still yelling. “ **WE’VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE!** ” A dramatic pause followed, and then Mettaton let out a loud gasp of dismay, and palmed his “face” with his Mickey Mouse style gloves.

 

“ **…OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET!!! WE’RE MISSING THE MOST _IMPORTANT INGREDIENT_!**

 

The “killer” robot pulled out a huge chainsaw and I heard the scream of the fake audience all around.

 

‘That went from 0 to 100 real quick!’ Chara actually _squawked_ , her face pale as the chainsaw grew closer. I wasn’t worried though, on closer inspection the chainsaw was dulled and it was vibrating rather than actually spinning. At best he could give us a really nice massage with that prop.

 

‘It’s fake…’ Frisk sent good vibes with our mental connection, and I guessed that she had thanked me.

 

“ **Two _ripe_ human souls!!!**” He drew ever closer, and his chainsaw rubbed(literally  rubbed) against my cheek. He stopped as a phone interrupted his ingredient gathering.

 

“ **I’m a bit in the middle of something dear.** ” Mettaton put Alphys on speaker.

 

“W-Wait a second!!! Couldn’t you make a substitution in the recipe?!” The killer seemed to ponder at the lizard monsters question.

 

“ **A substitution? You mean use a different, Non-human ingredient?** ”

 

“Uh yeah. I mean what if someone is vegan?” A brief awkward pause followed, until Mettaton suddenly bounced using his wheel.

 

“ **That’s brilliant idea Alphys!! In fact, I happen to have an option right here!!! MTT-Brand Always-Convenient Human-Soul-Flavor-Substitution!** ”

 

‘KILL HIM!’ Holy shit Chara really hates Mettaton doesn’t she?

 

‘Everything about him, makes me violently angry!’ I ignored Chara’s incoherent rant and nodded my head absently as Mettaton told us it was on a counter to our right. I went up ahead, and pulled out my phone checking to see if it had the same modifications as Frisk’s thankfully it did. Just as I closed in, the piece of furniture rose up at immense speed, and I was no longer able to reach it.

 

“ **By the way, our show runs on a strict schedule. If you can’t get the Can in the next one minute. We’ll have to go back to the _original_ plan! So you better hurry up!**”

 

_RING! RING!_

 

Alphys explained the upgrades she had made to my phone, though some adjustments were made since my phone was a touchscreen rather than a block phone like Frisk’s. I opened up the Jetpack app, and was blinded as my phone rapidly transformed into a purple-blue jetpack. It placed itself on, and I spun around to see how it affected my movements.

 

“You should have just enough fuel to reach the top! Now get up there!!!” Our resident scientist sounds a little more confident now, that’s good.

 

Okay so how do I—

 

Holy _hell_! I heard the boom of the rocket thruster, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach as the G force hit. The jetpack seemed to be self maneuvering, so only a little chance of crashing.

 

“Not the eggs!” I had of lean one way or the other as Mettaton three eggs hoping to make me fall. I spluttered as small piles of sugar entered my mouth, and my clothing was left pale white by the endless clouds of saccharine sweetness. A few more more waves of wasted food items, and I narrowly reached the top of the sky cabinet. Mettaton made a sound of disappointment, and shook his metallic head.

 

“ **It seems you have bested me, but only because of the help of the brilliant doctor Alphys! I _loathe_ to think of what would have happened to you without her!!!** **Well toodles!** ” The robot faded away into the darkness leaving g me alone.

 

“Three, two, one.”

 

“ **Oh yes!** ” Right on cue, mister Mettaton. You weird robot ghost…

 

“ **About the substitution… Haven’t you ever seen a cooking show before? I already baked the cake ahead of time!!!!! So forget it!!!** ” This time he left for real, and my jetpack gently dropped down until I landed on the kitchen table it’s nary a scratch.

 

I wonder what my parent would say if they can see me now? I’m more famous than either of them have ever been, though I can’t say I care about _that_ in particular. I’ve fought literal monsters(kinda?) and I’m currently trying to free said race of monsters, also I’ve apparently been enlisted in fighting an interdimensional demon. I really don’t want to continue this train of thought anymore, oh Alphys is calling.

 

“W-We did it!” I smiled along as Alphys practically leaped for joy, and I could hear her jumping on the lab floor from my phone.

 

“Good job team! Uh anyway let’s keep going forward okay.” She hung up, and I put my phone away.

 

“Frisk come on!” I called out to the young girl, and she dashed toward me. She stopped on a dime but she was still bouncing with stars in her eyes.

 

“Uh…?” I had no idea why she was looking at me like that.

 

“That was _so_ cool!” I felt my cheeks grow warm at the compliment unsure of how to take it. Gaster floated back over, having hidden in the background while we did our little _thing_. Frisk circled around me, her arms opening up as if she was an airplane.

 

“You were so confident and collected. You flew on a _jetpack_ , you were like _whoosh_ while Mettaton was like ‘ARGH I’m gonna throw food so I can eat your soul’ and you dodged every attack!” Her body shook, letting out her reserves of pent up energy.

 

“I was actually—.” Frisk patted my chest and smiled.

 

“I know…” I nodded, and just as I turned around to keep going, I felt her grab my hand. The door opened, and a strong ashy smelling hot wind ruffled my cloak. Out in the distance I could see it, the CORE that powers the whole of Underground. Frisk pressed the star formed from her own Determination.

 

‘ **An ominous structure looms in the distance… You’re filled with Determination.** ’

 

We only walked a couple of steps before we got another call. Frisk took out her phone and answered.

 

“You s-see that building in the distance? That’s the CORE. The source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy from magma into magical energy by uh…” Alphys grew hesitant and muttered a few things, like don’t know,  very complicated science.

 

“Uh anyway that’s where we’re going to go. It has an elevator that leads straight to Asgore’s castle. And you…can go home from there.” Alphys voice wavered at the very end and I already suspected why.

 

“Hey Gaster?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“How is the CORE _really_ powered?” An ominous pause followed.

 

“Don’t ask questions that you don’t want to know the answers to.”

 

***

“Hey sans!” Frisk greeted sans as he worked at his illegal hotdog stand. sans lazily waved us over, Gaster looked moldy disapproving but I couldn’t be too sure.

 

“hey buddy, what’s up? wanna buy a hotdog? it’s only 30G.” Frisk nodded and bought one. I decided to let this play out, if it was going to end the way i was expecting it to. Frisk’s face at figuring out what her “hot dog” was, completely priceless. It didn’t deter her though, she got a hot cat, but her inventory was full. She kept going, and sans kept on stacking hot dogs on her head. She carefully kept still, as the tower of leaning hotdog rose ever higher.

 

“Ha I did it!” Frisk boasted and I had to crane my head to see the top of the 30 odd dogs on her head. “Now we’ll never go hungry!”

 

“SOOO, how are you going to keep them from falling off your head?” I piped in bursting her bubble. She moved toward me to retort, but the tower collapsed throwing the hot dogs either onto the floor or into the lava down below. Frisk sank to the floor in despair and whimpered. I thought of something that might be able to cheer her up.

 

“Hey Frisk!” She lifted up her head to look at me. “You know we can befriend Papyrus and Undyne on our phones.” She picked herself up, and with a few seconds of button mashing sent out a friend request to everyone she knew. I decided to follow her lead, curious on what my username would be.

 

“It’s… an interesting username…”

 

TallerHuman for me, and ShorterHuman for Frisk. I scrolled through until I found CoolSkeleton95 and StrongFish91. It didn’t take very long, and I sent out both requests. Within half a second my requests were accepted, and for a moment I thought I heard a shout of joy, but I ignored it thinking it was my imagination.

 

“So uh sans what are you doing here? I thought you would be out looking for you know who.” sans laid back a bit and gave a small shrug.

 

“well kid, some things have to play out as similar as possible, to keep things on track. i’ll be getting back to work when you guys leave.”

 

Well that answers that…

 

“OK let’s get a move on Frisk.”

 

“she’s already gone ahead.”

 

FRISK!!

 

I ran after her, but she had already done the timing based conveyor puzzle. I sighed in relief when I saw Frisk was sitting in a criss-cross position a foot away from the conveyor. She waved, and I gave her a brief glare before taking a gaze at the safety hazard that was the conveyor puzzle. I turned back to Frisk and her smile dropped at the look on my face.

 

“I…” I only felt…disappointment(?) that she would do something so potentially unsafe. All the other times she wasn’t with me, she was with Gaster and she just left!

 

“Please do not run off again!” I gently grabbed her chin and she nodded absently.

 

Ugh, wait what am I doing!? I let go, and coughed to hide my blush. Gaster rolled his pupils(?) in amusement and a brief pulse of blue magic lifted us over to the other side. Frisk gave me an affectionate nuzzle and brief apology before checking her phone for an update.

 

_ ALPHYS _ _: OMG? ppl think Mew Mew 2 is better than Mew Mew 1? LOLLLLL that’s a joke right…_

 

Now I’m remembering my burning hatred for modern day social media… outside of forums of course, those… are more simple. With some interesting… _ideas_. I lowered myself so I could see the beady eyes of a tiny gray mouse curiously staring back at me. It squeaked once before hiding deeper in his or her little mouse hole.

 

‘ **Knowing this mouse might one day hack the computerized safe and get the cheese… It fills you with Determination.** ’

 

Goddamn it Alphys not another damn status update.

 

_ ALPHYS _ _: omg… DON’T THEY GET IT RUINS Mew Mew’s ENTIRE CHARACTER ARC_

 

I ignored the next text, and found my hatred for social media increased 3 sizes that day. Just as we reached a bend in the path, I heard two sets of loud metallic footsteps. Oh it’s RG 01 and RG 02 coming our way, fantastic…

 

“Hey! You two! Stop!” Gaster had vanished from sight, but I could still sense that he was somewhere nearby. The guards were huge, as tall as Undyne but far wider than she was. They were rippling with muscle, even under their armor I could tell that. RG 01 spoke up, and he had a sort of dude-bro voice I couldn’t describe.

 

“We’ve like received an anonymous tip about two humans wearing cloaks wandering around Hotland. I know sounds pretty scary huh?” 01 gestured with his gauntleted right hand to come along, and we reluctantly followed them.

 

“Well just stay chill. We’ll bring you two someplace safe, OK” RG 02 whispered into the other’s ear and I told Frisk to brace herself. They turned right around, and I waited for the incoming fight.

 

But nothing happened…

 

The guards were looking awkwardly at us, and we waited. 01 rubbed the back of helmet in embarrassment.

 

“Well this is awkward, normally we’d have to like kill you. But Undyne said she like sent you guys to break the barrier. And we have to stay on guard for a flower or something?" My eyes widened in shock and I heard Frisk let out a deep breath. We nodded, since it _was_ at least half true.

 

“Wait…that monster from before… had vines.” RG 02 whispered some more into his partners ears. Frisk tilted her head, noticing how 01 fidgeted whenever the monster drew close, and that RG 02 visibly flexed in turn. Her expression turned mischievous, and she whistled to alert the guards. They both turned to the little girl.

 

“HEY! YOU TWO SHOULD KISS!!” Frisk hollered and both of the monsters jumped back from each other.

 

“Uh dude, that isn’t u-uh funny.” Numero uno shook his head in denial, and Frisk then cleaned his partner’s armor, removing the heat removing dust from his body. A silent minute passed before the guardsmen was forced to strip off his armor so he could breathe more easily.

 

“Better…”

 

Oh my _god_ you could grind meat on those… I was forced to look away from the marble statuesque monster, and I saw steam come out of 01’s ears. I really wished they had actual names now. Anyway 01 was quaking unable to handle his partner’s im _pec_ cable physique.

 

“Be honest with your feelings.” RG 01 took a deep breath and turned to his partner.

 

“Dude… I have to tell you the truth. Like 02 I like… LIKE you bro!! The way you fight… The way you talk… I love doing team attacks with you. I love when we’re bouncing around and waving our swords in sync. I want this to stay forever.” 01 waited with bated breath for 02’s answer, and I heard a manly squeal as 02 accepted his partner’s confession.

 

“D-Do you want to go… get some ice cream after this?” 02 nodded, and 01 eagerly grabbed his hand. It was completely _adorable_ to watch a new romance unfold. They walked off, and 01 waved goodbye.

 

“Thanks little human, maybe you can help out 03 and 04 once you break the barrier!” Thr two monster were now out of sight.

 

Should I worry about that last bit…

 

“Hey Frisk.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m like 90% sure forcibly cleaning someone’s armor to get them to take it off is harassment.”

 

‘…’ Chara didn’t say anything, no words could describe what Frisk had done. Frisk dropped her head down.  Frisk is weird, if adorable and I’ll _break_ anyone who dares to hurt her!

 

OK… Let’s calm down, we’re walking and _now_ it’s pitch black. I walked around and then—.

 

OH MY _EYES_ I CAN’T SEE!! I blinked the stars out of my visions, and Frisk sneezed as the light entered her eyes.

 

Aww, she’s one of the people who sneeze with bright light! So adorbs! Okay stop that! Frisk might be incredibly adorable but that’s no reason to act like a pa—.

 

Never mind…

 

I noticed a shadow, a large green screen with a section devoted to following us for the viewers at home.

 

“ **OHHHHH YESSS!!!** ”

 

Hello again Mettaton, good to see you.

 

“ **Good evening, beauties and gentlebeauties! This is Mettaton reporting live from MTT news! An interesting situation has arisen in eastern Hotland! Fortunately our correspondents are reporting live! Brave correspondents please find something newsworthy to report!** ”

 

“Doggy!” Frisk went straight after the white dog and gave it a nice scritch and scratch.

 

“ **Attention viewers our correspondents have found… a dog!** Canned audience awws sounded throughout the small room. Frisk looked around, unsure of where the noise was coming from.

“ **That’s right, folks! It’s the feel-good story of the year! Look at his tiny paws, his cute white fur and his itty bitty tail.** ” A brief dramatic silence left Frisk uneasy and her pets stopped.

 

“ **That’s not a tail, it’s a fuse! That’s right!! That dog… is a bomb!! But don’t panic yet you haven’t seen the rest of the room yet!!** ” The green screen seemed to shatter away like glass, and Frisk gave the dog-bomb a look of betrayal and hurt.

 

“ **OH MY! It seems everything in this room is a bomb!** ” We had to dodge words as Mettaton continued his maniacal monologue about everything being a bomb.

 

“ **Brave correspondents… If you don’t defuse all of the bombs… the big bomb over there will blow you to smithereens in two minute!** ” I nodded along to Mettaton’s remaining dialogue. Alphys called immediately to my phone and I picked up.

 

“O-Oh no. Those are the real bombs, rather than the fake ones that are supposed to be there! We need to defuse them before it’s to late!” Alphys sounded mortified and confused, and I doubted Mettaton was behind this. A close inspection of a bomb, showed small bits of plant matter attached. “But don’t worry because I added a bomb defused app onto your phones.” Frisk and I split into two teams, defusing the bombs in record time I took a hit or two from the lasers but otherwise pretty unscathed.

 

But when we got to the big bomb, was when I knew things might be a little off. There were two bombs, one deactivated and the other still ticking down.

 

“Oh no I can’t turn it off!!” Alphys despaired, and the bomb only had 2 seconds on the clock. Gaster floated down from above and rolled his eyes at our poor display. He waved his hand, the bomb shivering and then vanishing.

 

 _BOOM!!_ The room shook, as the bomb exploded with immense force but was thankfully teleported far enough away to not dust a single person. Mettaton played if off with frustrated laughter.

 

“ **Fantastic work! Such an unorthodox way of defusing a bomb! Curses! I have been thwarted by the humans and their monster allies! But I don’t curse my eight wonderful viewers for turning in! Until next time my darlings!** ” Mettaton whizzed away leaving us alone with Gaster, and with Alphys on the phone. I wobbled on my feet as the acre line rush wore off, but Frisk kept me aloft.

 

“I-I’m so sorry!” Alphys apologized. “If I had known, I would have been able to stop the second bomb!”

 

“I-It’s fine you couldn’t have known what was happening. You managed to stop the  first bomb, there shouldn’t of been a second bomb in the first place.” I tried to console her the best I could, and it seemed to work as she quieted her panic attack.

 

“I’ve done good?” I nodded hoping she could see through the cameras. “I’ll just keep doing my best in guiding you.” We nodded in sync and I heard a sigh of relief.

 

“I’ll do my best to monitor for any changes that could prove… _deadly_.” The call ended, and I looked around for any suspicious activity. When I found nothing, I left with Frisk and Chara on my tail.

 

***

 

“She was lying wasn’t she?” Frisk asked me as I stopped just short of the edge where Muffet would normally attack the player. We hadn’t bought anything, but Frisk had intentionally had a bottle of Spider Cider strapped to her waist using her mandanna. The vent puzzles I had done myself, though I fell flat on my face a number of times, the shooter puzzles were a bit of trial and error but I did them anyway. I really didn’t want to leave Frisk falling off to chance.

 

“About our meeting with Asgore… being peaceful?” Frisk had a far away look in her eye and I heard a quiet “yes”  

 

“Yeah she lied, because we need Asgore’s soul to cross the barrier.” Frisk’s lips trembled and she seemed on the brink of tears.

 

“We’re not going to kill _anyone_ Frisk. I can promise you that much.” She nodded and went on ahead, having already saved.

 

Muffet’s area was eerily silent and my eyes widened as I heard a muffled scream for help. Gaster surged past me and right into action, the spiders were frantic and were circling a dark shape shape where Muffet would normally be doing her speech about killing us. A scowl formed on my face, as a _certain_ somebody a _rose_ from the ground. A confused and scared Muffet was being held in the multiple vines of a monstrous looking Flowey. His face was twisted by his smile of sheer contempt and rage.

 

“I c-could do with some help humans…” Muffet the spider queen had a very subtle and somewhat shrill British accent. Her normally menacing tone was tempered by her current predicament.  Gaster raised his right hand, and a rotating circle of hand shaped Gaster blasters popped into existence. Flowey only had eyes for Frisk, and she froze under his enraged gaze.

 

“ **Oh howdy! It’s _me_ your beesst friend! It seems our little mini boss here is a bit _tied_ up right now. You only have to deal with ME!**” Flowey’s face became more horrifying with each word and his hold on Muffet grew tighter and tighter. She started to choke, but before any further damage could be done she was surrounded by an expanding bubble of blue magic and brought over behind him.

 

“ **Now that’s quiet rude buddy. It’s not so nice to get between me and my FrIend!** ” Flowey’s stem rose up high into the air, towering far over us. A dozen bullets surrounded him in a rapid orbit.

 

“ **NOW DIE!!!** ” We were forced to dodge a rapid fire barrage of attacks, with holes being carved out in the cobweb covered ground. Chara let out a shout, as Frisk was clipped by a bullet. Frisk winced but she had fortunately only taken one damage due to her armor.  

 

“Stop this now As—.” Flowey _screamed_ and dozens of vines crushed the area where Gaster had been to rubble. Flowey had turned into even more of a monstrosity than he already was. He wasn’t holding back like he had been at the beginning of our journey. His small flower body, was now on top of a massive green roots and vines, resembling Omega Flowey’s arms if not as thick and and as large.

 

“ **There’s no point in letting our GaMe continue anymore! You’ll just WIN again and RESET again like always!! You’ll save me only to kill me again, and again and I’m so very _tired_.** ” Frisk only looked confused at his statement and I wondered in horror, at what had made Flowey finally snap. When he looked at her face, he grew even more _livid_.

 

“ **Don’t _look_ at me like that! DON’T YOU _DARE_ PRETEND YOU DON’T REMEMBER!**”

 

Holy crudballs!

 

I threw myself back, as Flowey fired off a dozen vine slams on my position. Frisk had instead generated a green bubble that was straining under the force imparted on it. Frisk yelled and the bubble expanded ten fold throwing the now massive massive flower back.

 

“ **Oh you’re making things interesting now aren’t you? Well two can play at that game.** ” His bullets emitted a fiery aura, and they shot out like shotgun pellets. I felt the heat in the room rise, and hastily kept my balance as the floor shook.

 

Everything turned into a blur, Frisk forming barrier after barrier to block the pellets and keeping Muffet alive. Beams shot out from Gaster’s blasters severing multiple of Flowey’s vines. Occasionally Frisk’s eyes would glow with red, and she would dodge an attack I couldn’t have seen coming. In one instance she cut a vine whip in half using a hand wrapped in red flames.

 

I felt a burning sensation as I expended my own magic, my weak telekinesis affecting the homicidal flowers aim. Flowey snarled and threw a massive vine in Muffet’s direction, in a spot the others wouldn’t be able to get to in time. I reached within myself for the purple magic within and threw myself over Muffet and took the hit.

 

“BRANDON!” Frisk let out a frightened shriek but I knew better. As the dust settled, I watched in amazement as my own two hands held back a vine as wide as a small car. I felt my barrier nearly reach it’s breaking point and felt a new _surge_ in power.

 

“Rahhh!!” I threw all my weight onto a single punch, and Flowey was briefly ripped out of his roots. I didn’t stop there, my purple soul emerged glowing brighter than ever.

 

_Ensnare._

 

Flowey let out a shriek, as dozens of string like tendrils wrapped around him. It was… _difficult_ to sustain but I managed it, and with shaking hands I clapped. The strings tightened up and wrapped him up into a murderous burrito. He threw an expanding bubble of pellet that was no-sold by Frisk’s barriers. She shined green and Flowey was surrounded in a several meter wide bubble. Gaster tapped the top of the bubble and Flowey cursed us as he was _popped_ away.

 

‘Where’d you send him?’ Chara asked with a worried glance and Gaster had a smirk on his face.

 

“Somewhere where he’ll have a real _dog_ gone good time.”

 

_—Somewhere?—_

 

“Come back here and let me kill you, you mangy mutt!” Flowey chased around a small white dog, who was happily barking. The room they were in was small, and there were several bits of dog related things laying around. Flowey had tried everything; his vines, his bullets, even pelting the Annoying Dog with it’s own stuff.

 

The door was locked and it would not open until the dog said so. Flowey knew he couldn’t kill the dog or leave but he didn’t care.

 

“ **WHY WON’T YOU JUST DIE!!!** ”

 

_—Back in Hotland—_

 

That…didn’t answer my question. Gaster only smiled but his body shook for a moment in pain. Frisk rushes up to him, and her hand glowed with healing magic and with a touch his shaking stopped. I _checked_ him with some difficulty, wanting to know if he was alright.

 

**Wingdings Gaster ATK 66 DEF 66**

 

That was the only thing I could see, before he karate chopped my head.

 

“Oww!” I rubbed my head and he waggled his bony finger at me.

 

“No time for that child, we must continue onward.” Muffet stopped us for a moment. Her six eyes all focused on my two eyes, and… she gave me a flirtatious wink(?!).

 

“Oh dearie I must thank you for saving me from that dastardly flower. Let me introduce myself.” The spider lady did a small fancy flourish with her dress, and Gaster had a dubious expression on his face. I felt a _teensy_ tiny bit of sweat drop from my forehead, as the she monster grabbed my right hand and _daintily_ shook it. Her smile widened exposing her fangs. “My name is Muffet and my dearies have already informed me of _your_ name.” I froze when she tiptoed her long fingers over my right arm for a brief moment.

 

“Hee hee, and they’ve also told me you have no issues with spiders. _And_ that you have stayed on your _very_ best behavior. Your _soul_ is a tasteful color as well mhm. Perhaps we can have a cup of tea some time~” She strutted sensually, before climbing up into the high cobwebs and her form then faded away into the darkness.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

‘...’

 

What the fuck!?

 

“High five!” Frisk yes is actually showing me the palm of her hand for a high five.

 

“Should I be flattered or terrified?” I asked Gaster and he shrugged. Chara was the one to answer my question, and thankfully the monster spider’s couldn’t hear her.

 

‘I would say a little bit of both I would think. On one hand you got asked out by a girl. On the other hand, she’s a crazy stalker spider lady who may or may not eat you.” The redhead used her two hands as weights as she evaluated each option, and I really hoped that Muffet was just messing with me. Because if not…

 

I’m so screwed…

 

“You’re getting all the ladies tonight!” I groaned as Frisk cheered for my success. I had a number of issues with Frisk’s statement. One Tsunderplane is apparently only infatuated with the idea of being in love. Two the volcano monster doesn’t count, since it’s more like a cute little puppy. Three Muffet is a _giant crazy spider_ lady. Four I don’t feel feel particularly attracted to those three choices, not included any other _weird_ pairing she’s thinking of.

 

“Frisk?” She gave me an innocent look and I showed off my scowl.

 

“ _Never_ say that again.”

 

Muffet _is_ the most humanoid of the three of them, but…

 

I don’t trust that she wouldn’t feed me poison by mistake, or if I accidentally kill a spider that she won’t eat me, so many ways _that_ can go wrong. Also while for a spider lady she’s surprisingly easy on the eyes, that’s because she looks like cartoon spider rather than a real one. I like spiders, and all but I can admit they can be creepy little buggers. And I find her more cute in the way, a puppy or some of those fuzzy spiders species are cute.

 

Still better than wasps, they’ve been aliening since before Alien. I felt a tug on my claims and blanched as I finally noticed the Mettaton poster in front.

 

“I’m calling it Bruffet.” Frisk quietly whispered to Chara.

 

Dammit Frisk! No!

 

***

Deep in the snow filled forest near Snowdin, a wary Red felt a shiver run down his spine as his instincts screamed. The old raptor scratched the old scar on his beak, patrolling beside him was Papyrus. The young monster gave the old raptor a concerned expression but Red waved him off.

 

“It’s nothing I just have a feeling Frisk has said something strange again.” That only left Papyrus more confused.

 

“WHO?” Red sighed a bit, and his eyes widened as he realized their names had never been mentioned once.

 

“The smaller human.” Papyrus gasped in shock, and horror.

 

“HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN TO ASK THEIR NAMES! I HAVE BEEN A TERRIBLE FRIEND!” Red seemed unsure of what to do, but went for comfort anyway.

 

“Don’t be so worried young… man you have just been distracted.”

 

“THAT IS NO EXCUSE!!” Red generated hisses and clicks of approval, and only shook his head in old nostalgia. He went back to scratching he old scar, though his eyes tilted to Papyrus’s curious look.

 

“WHY… DO YOU SCRATCH THAT OLD SCAR?” The skeleton monster was uncharacteristically quiet, and Red sighed falling into old memories.

 

“It’s hard to not touch it…” The raptor’s head sunk lower, and his claws brushed loudly against the heavy snow, his melancholy obvious.

 

“THAT SCAR… HOLDS UNPLEASANT MEMORIES DOESN'T IT? I REMEMBER UNDYNE DOING THE SAME AFTER ONE OF HER EYES WAS DAMAGED IN… AN INCIDENT.” A dark chuckle made Papyrus feel uncomfortable, but it didn’t deter him from helping.

 

“I’M SURE IF YOU TALK ABOUT IT YOU’LL FEEL BETTER.”

 

“Not now, but later when the time is more appropriate. I don’t much like talking about the battle that took _everything_ from Frisk and I.”

 

The silence was deafening.


	7. Chapter Six: Hotland, the CORE, and The Fabulousness of Mettaton Part 2

**Chapter Six: Hotland, the CORE, and the Fabulousness of Mettaton Part 2**

 

Just as I reacted to the poster, I released a high pitched yelp as a rope was wrapped around me and I was dragged off stage. Frisk reached out for me, and I was suddenly beside Mettaton wearing a dress.

 

“ **Oooh darling, I’m sorry but this part was designed with only two in mind. You’ll have to serve a distant supporting role, and not as the deuteragonist of this developing storyline!** ” I nodded with a tired sigh, and gave Frisk a thumbs up from the sidelines. She nodded, and took decisive steps forward, until she stopped just short of a fake vine. And there he was, in a long and well made blue and white dress emerging from the left corner of a prop building. I sat in that same corner, on a plush chair, only slightly worried. At least until the maze puzzle comes up.

 

“ **Oh? That human…** ” Mettaton sounded hopeful, staring down at Frisk from his vantage point.

 

“ **Could it be? My one true love?** ”

 

“Yes it is I!” Frisk declared, her shining armor plate visible under her billowing cloak. Mettaton elegantly walked down the stairs of the building he was on, his gown flowing in the wind made by a fan offscreen. Elegant music made the scene more dramatic, and I rolled my eyes under my hoodie. And that was when Mettaton started to _sing_.

 

“ **~Oh my love. Please run away. Monster and Human king forbids your stay~** ” The spotlight briefly shined and me and I waved politely.

 

‘Snrk…’ Chara floated away, unable to take the scene seriously and not wanting to distract Frisk.

 

“ **~Humans must. Live far apart. Even if. It breaks my heart~** ” Pink petals started to gently fly down, held aloft by more fans. I easily untied myself and pulled out my phone. Gaster was hidden, and keeping a close eye on Frisk for me. Chara looked down, curiosity evident on her face.

 

‘I’ll keep an eye socket out for you. Just in case he attempts to pull anything.’

 

“Heh okay.” Gaster jumped down, and followed after Frisk as she fell into the dungeon. A sudden wave of exhaustion sunk me down to the floor, and a nervous Chara took a seat beside me.

 

‘Are you okay?’ I shook my head, as I felt a strong ache in my _soul_. I think I had overexerted myself. Magic doesn’t seem to run out, but the output might be limited by experience.

 

‘Yeah just _might_ have used a bit too much magic.’ Chara nodded, her three bangs bouncing with the action. She was sitting in a fetal position, and I tilted my head to emulate confusion. Frisk and I have more in common than you might think in having fairly unchanging facial expressions. Chara gave me an off putting smile, and I smiled back not knowing what to say. Chara then scooted up a bit closer, I felt a phantom feeling of warmth next to me.

 

‘Um what are you looking at?’ She seemed to be nervous getting up this close, and I wondered if there had ever been humans who hadn’t treated her terribly. She was suspicious at first, and even a little angry but she was much calmer now.

 

‘That’s all you and Frisk’s fault!’ I backed up, as Chara got up in my face with her red cheeks puffed out in frustration.

 

‘How so?’ She shimmied away and pulled back a stray strand of hair.

 

‘I…the connection let’s me see you guys for who you really are. Other humans I didn’t know whether they would be my friend, or only hurt me. I-I know you guys wouldn’t do anything, Frisk is too nice and you… have a sense of morals that wouldn’t let you hurt people. E-Even someone like me…’ Chara grew deathly silent, and I panicked.

 

‘There’s nothing wrong with you!’ I flinched when her blood red eyes glazed with rage, and she snarled.

 

‘I KILLED HIM!!’ Her voice died down and she broke down into sobs. I noticed there weren’t any cameras and brushed her semi-solid hair with a soft touch.

 

‘Our plan was _so_ STUPID! We didn’t have to do what we did we shouldn’t have gotten so close to the town. We could have grabbed a human soul from I don’t know a car crash, or maybe we’d wander around for souls willing to help us. But _no_ I had to get power hungry and vengeful, and try to massacre a village of humans!’ Her sobs grew stronger and she collapsed into me. I suppose our encounter with Flowey had brought back some unpleasant memories as well as old regrets.

 

‘I should have listened to Gaster’ I froze and Chara’s eyes widened as her mistake was heard.

 

‘I…I.” I sighed and ruffled her semi solid and messy mop of reddish brown hair.

 

‘It’s okay. Hey when you get your full body back, we should get some ice cream. Would you like that?’ I asked and reassured in my gentlest tone and Chara nodded.

 

‘MOTHERFU—OWW!!’ I thinks that’s Frisk… She sounds really mad, and in pain right now.

 

‘Stupid piranhas stop nibbling my toes! I-IT TICKLES!’ I could hear Frisk’s cute giggling from here, and I jumped right off the tower, slamming into the ground like Undyne did back in our fight. Chara darted past me, slowly phasing through the floor. I noticed an inconspicuous lever close to where Mettaton has been standing. I ran to Frisk’s previous spot and with some concentration created a purple tendril to pull the lever. I fell down, but got snagged on a stalactite hanging above the randomized maze puzzle. I tried to move, but couldn’t as my hood was stuck to the rock.

 

Well then this is a little embarrassing.

 

‘Sup Gaster’ I sensed mild surprise and then _bemusement_ from Gaster, and a flash of orange broke the large rock, and I then landed on a cushion of blue magic. Again I was off camera, and it seemed like Frisk’s fight with Mettaton had begun.

 

“H-Hey!! T-This seems bad but don’t worry. T-There’s one last thing I installed on your phone.” Frisk nodded confidently, her phone in her left hand, and a frying pan on the right. “Y-You see that yellow button…? Go to the phone’s menu and press it!!!”

 

“Okay.” Frisk did so and at first nothing happened but then…

 

A pulse of yellow ripples from the phone and into Frisk’s SOUL. The color shifted from red to yellow, and Frisk gave Mettaton a cheeky throat-slit gesture. The bouncing and fight ready robot bounced more fabulously and curled his cartoon hands into fists. Frisk lifted up her yellow glowing index finger and _fired_. A dozen hits shook Mettaton to his core. Another dozen hits and the robot was now wobbling on unsteady wheels.

 

“ **OOOH! OOOOOOOH! YOU’VE DEFEATED ME!! HOW CAN THIS BE, YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT!** ” He wheeled away to the left, waving as he did so.

 

“It looks like you beat him. You did a really great job out there. All thanks to you…” frisk tilted her head at the tone of Alphys voice.

 

“…umm, h-hey this might sound strange, but. But can I tell you guys something.” Frisk nodded her consent and quietly waved me over. I suspected that Alphys had already known I was there.

 

“B-before I met you guys, I didn’t really…” My hand curled up at the _raw_ emotion in Alphys voice. “I didn’t really like myself very much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. Like I couldn’t do a-anything w-without… without letting everyone down.”

 

Dammit…it _hurts_ to hear that from another person. I could easily _empathize_ with the people of this land, but only because I had information I hadn’t earned. Not that it was my or their fault.

 

“B-But even if this is all faked, guiding you has made me feel… a little better about myself. So…thanks for letting me help you.”

 

“It’s hard to not want to help you, though I’ve never been particularly good at that.” Alphys let out an understanding hum, and then a cough to say her ending statement.

 

“Uhhh, anyway, we’re almost to the CORE. It’s just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let’s finish this!” The phone call ended, Alphys leaving with a slightly higher self esteem.

 

“Oh _wait_ does that mean all the traps were activated by her!?” I nodded, and Frisk facepalmed with an added head tilt.

 

‘She has…really low self esteem.’ Chara mentioned, and I snorted at her, she gave me a weak glare in response.

 

“Like any of us are one to talk.” She seemed ready to protest but after a few moments of mulling it over she stopped.

 

“Fair enough…” I gave Gaster a sideways look as he had an odd smile on his face.

 

“I’d say I have too much e _steam_.” He punned gesticulating to our surrounding location.

 

“No.” Gaster’s expression dropped and I grabbed Frisk’s hand to walk back up into Hotland. We could take some rest up at Mettaton’s overpriced hotel, before entering the CORE.

 

Maybe once we defeated Mettaton EX I would have all the answers I wanted from Gaster. There wasn’t much to mention afterward, we simply walked up the steps, and before we knew it we were at MTT Resort. A letter on the ground caught my attention and I picked it up to read.

 

I raised an eyebrow as I read the letter, telling me to go into a creepy alleyway like it was a perfectly normal request. I put it back down, and gently pulled Frisk toward sans leaning against the resort. Gaster followed behind us, while Chara was taking a short nap floating a few feet in the air as if she was lying down on a bed.

 

“hey. you guys must be heading to the core. how about grabbing some dinner with me before you go?” Frisk looked at me and patted her belly, and I quietly said “yes.”

 

“great. we should get going then. over here I know a shortcut.” Gesturing with his left hand to the other less creepy alleyway. We followed and a blink later we were suddenly inside a fancy restaurant. The only issue, was the odd lack of seats, but that was okay. There was a nice calming soundtrack playing, one that was _very_ familiar for me.

 

“well, here we are.” I nodded, smiling lightly as Frisk looked around the restaurant in wonder. There were several other monster patrons around here, but they politely kept their distance and I heard no rude gossip either.

 

“so…” I lifted up my head, my eyes stopping at his nose(nose hole?). Frisk had a look of deep concentration that faded into a far-away look, her eyes tinged with a red glow. She blinked and the strange effect was gone as if it had never been there in the first place.

 

“your journey is almost over, huh?” Frisk’s eyes widened in shock and anxiety twisted her expression. “ _you_ must really want to go home.” That was directed at me rather than Frisk, who didn’t really have anything to go back to anymore. “hey. i know the feeling, buddo.” His smile dropped a bit, and he drummed his fingers in a rhythmical pattern.

 

“but then you’ve must’ve heard this conversation a thousand times already.”

 

Twice… more including comics and fanfics.

 

“if this had been the first time. i would say you’d be dead where you stand, but there’s no point anymore. so let’s talk about something else.”

 

“Yeah okay.” I replied with some trepidation. He looked at _something_ and his grin grew a bit.

 

“your magic has gotten stronger hasn’t it. personally never saw human magic before, at least i can’t remember if I have.” I rolled my wrist, and nodded. He lifted up his hand to call a waiter, and a female flame monster I had never seen before showed up with a menu. She was around the same height as Grillby and wore a shinier and more gaudier variety of his outfit though fitted to her _far_ more curvaceous form. Her outer suit/vest was colored purple, while the inner dress shirt was black. She had a fiery heart-shaped face and two evenly spaced glowing spots that acted as her eyes. Her fire was blue-white rather than Grillby’s orange-red color.

 

“Here are your menus.” Her voice had the same twang as Grillby, indicating a _possible_ relation either by blood or coming from a similar area and sharing an accent. I took a menu, and Frisk looked weirded out as she read her own menu.

 

“Steak in the Shape of Mettaton’s face?” The Fire monster let out a sigh, clearly used to the question from previous customers. She pulled out one of those notebooks waiters use, and Frisk directed the monster to the Glamburger. She scribbled it down, and changed it to two as I ordered the same. Gaster ordered the Starfait, while sans didn’t order a thing only pulling a ketchup bottle in response to the waitress’s question. She left without saying a word, as after a single silent minute she came back with our orders.

 

The glamburger was a monstrosity… a mix of edible sequin and glitter. I had forgotten what it was made of.

 

“I _know_ right?” Frisk nodded agreeing with the fire monster, and stored the food away for later. Losing her appetite with the odd color, and I did the same. Gaster has no issue with his starfait and within a couple of seconds it was all gone.

 

“Thank you for the food miss…” The fire lady jolted and twiddled her thumbs in nervousness before answering.

 

“My name is Wildfire.” Her voice cracked a bit at the end, so she probably wasn’t much older if at all than I was then.

 

“You’re Grillby’s niece then.” She nodded, and there was a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. A high pitched cough interrupted them, and Wildfire was taken aback as Frisk gave her a flirty look.

 

“You look a lot like him.” Wildfire tilted her head in confusion. “Just as _hot_.” The waitress’s hair flared up in a bright white and I heard Frisk congratulate herself  under her breath.

 

“heh, never change frisk.” sans chuckled at the fire ladies expense, and I grinned as I figured out a way to tease Frisk.

 

“Ohhh you think Grillby is hot? I didn't know you were into older men.” Frisk’s confidence dropped and she grumbled cursing me under her breath.

 

“welp i think it’s time for me to get going.” sans took a step back away from our table. “you have about five hours of time before you need to get moving onto the core, more than enough time for a good nap.” We waved goodbye to him, and he vanished in a flash of blue light. Wildfire looked bewildered, but didn’t closely question it.

 

“Uh thank you for the hospitality.” Wildfire bowed her head and gave me a smile, though it was hard to tell with all the fire and all. She left to serve other patrons, and we were left alone. Frisk’s eyes widened as she noticed what had to be Snowdrake’s father. She decided to walk up to to make conversation.

 

“Hi.” The wrinkly drake startled into action, his tired eyes twinkling just a bit brighter at the sight of an excited child.

 

“Hello there.” He had a southern accent, and I wondered why it was so common in the Underground.

 

“Um…I know this might be a silly question but are are you Snowdrake’s dad?” His she widened to their fullest extent, and his breath hitched.

 

“Um yes…I suppose he already told you why he left if you know his name then?” She nodded and the old monster sighed, his emotional exhaustion clear to see. “I… considered his comedy a disgrace to the family, not very funny I know. But when his mothah passed on, he ran away unable to stand his family any longer.” Frisk looked _really_ mad until she saw the look in his eye. “I-I’m a terrible fathah.” His self loathing muttering were stopped as Frisk grasped his wing.

 

“You feel sorry to what you did right?” He nodded, and she _beamed_.

 

“Then things _can_ get better.” He seemed hopeful for once, and his attitude improved just a bit. I couldn’t help smile at the sweet scene, and the drake turning his gaze toward me, reminded me that I wasn’t watching from a screen.

 

“How is he anyway?” He asked me, most likely because I was closer to his age than Frisk. I pondered on how to answer him, we had met him only once and he seemed to be doing better.

 

“He’s doing alright, he’s trying to improve his comedic skills.” The monster seemed unsure, but he shook his head as if to shake off old prejudices.

 

“He’s funny.” Snowdrake’s father sounded proud, that his son managed to make someone laugh. His puns weren’t bad, just cringy but I’ve learned to appreciate puns over the past several months.

 

“Really?” Frisk and I nodded truthfully even, but I hoped Snowdrake could seek soar for even higher horizons.

 

“I believe you wanted to rent a room for some rest remember.” Gaster was right, and we hesitantly turned to leave. The drake stopped us grasping my arm with his wing and gave us a grateful look.

 

“Thank you…” I flushed and felt Frisk give me a light tap to get moving. We skipped the green blob employee, and entered into the “elegant” fountain room. There in the center was a statue of box Mettaton spewing out a sinful waste of water onto the expensive carpet. Chara floated by, and had been woken up. She was cranky and she looked _livid_ at the sight of the statue. Frisk didn’t give it a second glance, and saved forcing Chara to speak once again.

 

‘ **The relaxing atmosphere of this hotel… it fills you with Determination.** ’

 

“Do you want to take a quick look around?” She nodded, and was drawn to a small crowd near an elevator. She spoke quietly to a cat monster and they replied back.

 

“This elevator goes straight to the capital. But it stopped working. The hotel's doing its best to accommodate everybody stuck here.” Frisk nodded in thanks. I noticed the hotel was a fair bit larger than intake, and it seemed to be closer in size to a modern upclass hotel. I asked Frisk to save once again, and I walked over to the counter to ask for a room. There a monster with a blue human hand with an L shape(that or a horrible uniform) for a face sighed.

 

“Yes, we know. The elevator to the city is _not_ working. But because of this incident, rooms are running at a special rate! 200G a room.”

 

‘Stupid money grubbing little ba…’ Chara’s hateboner fueled rant faded as Chara phased through a wall by mistake. I paid for the room, and a monster I didn’t pay close attention to escorted us in. Frisk’s jaw dropped at the size of the bed, it was bed big enough to fit Asgore _and_ Toriel. And the both of them were over 8 feet tall! The room was fancy, but honestly I just wanted to sit down.

 

“Ahem…” I turned to find that Gaster was looking a little sheepish. I told him to go on, curious on what he had to say.

 

“Well…there are some things I must attend to. _Important_ things.” I couldn’t see why not, and he left us alone, closing the door in a hurry.

 

It was quiet… I closed my eyes, for a moment appreciating the silence after such a long day. I stepped over to the gigantic bed, and thankfully there was a step to get onto the bed with how high it was. I pulled a yawning Frisk up the bed and she lied down on the blanket, tired out from the day.

 

“Ugh magic uses a lot of energy.” She groaned into the soft bed, muffling her soft voice. I agreed and placed my head on the one pillow on the bed, which was kind of cheap actually. The pillow was fine, a bed this size _should_ have multiple pillows. Huh, wonder what time it is now? I should check the phone, which is still at 100% battery despite it turning into a jetpack at one point.

 

_8:06 PM_

 

We aren’t going to get much sleep tonight then… hmm? What’s Frisk doing? She’s getting closer? I— _oh_.

 

Frisk had curled up next to me on my right, and was looking at my phone with greater curiosity. She was actively cuddling me, and sighed with childish happiness.

 

“Please stop cuddling me.” She gave me a set of puppy eyes, and I felt my face warm up. She in fact got closer, and my face felt like it was on fire not used to affection like that.

 

“No…” Her voice was low and soft, and her lower lip trembled _just_ the slightest bit.

 

“ _Seriously_ what is with you and the cuddling?” Frisk gave me the dryest look I had ever seen in my 17 and and 9 plus months of life. She gave me a poke on the nose and a glare.

 

“Besides the fact I’ve been derived of _any_ form of human affection for about three years, as well as having a human who _actually_ cares about me for the first time since then.”

 

Oh… well that makes sense…

 

“Well cuddle away then…” She lit up, and I looked away from Chara’s smirk.

 

It _was_ kind of nice though…

  
  
  


I looked down at my phone, and felt someone shifting to my left. Chara had gone on my left but wasn’t anywhere near as close as Frisk had approached. I checked my YouTube to find that it was still perfectly functional, I just couldn’t log into my account or post anything. I still had a tab for spacebattles open, but still logged out. I could read things, but not post things back. I checked my emails but was disappointed as apparently the messages had been lost in the transit. Everything else only worked because Gaster and Alphys had fixed it.

 

Still it was a start…

 

“Do you guys want to watch something? Maybe a half hour to an hour and then we sleep” Chara seemed okay with that and seemed to have a suggestion, though she seemed a little embarrassed.

 

“Um… something about dinosaurs _or_ err ancient animals?” She lit up when Frisk nodded with energy. Hmm I already had an idea, for what we could watch.

 

How would they like to watch some videos from PBS Eons?

 

***

The CORE, the powerhouse of the Underground, the machine made by Wingdings Gaster, and one of his greatest creations. A machine that used the cooperation between a human and a monster. That was where Gaster had gone, and to the deepest and most dangerous part of the CORE’s machinery. The skeleton rushed to an area inaccessible to most, the current royal scientist only knew how to repair the outside parts of the massive generator. She never knew what converted the massive geothermal energy of magma, into the magical electricity that fuels the Underground. Which was unfortunate, because Gaster knew that one day the CORE would fail and kill everyone in or around the mountain and shatter the barrier with it’s unstable power.

 

He had five hours, to repair the inner layers, as well as create documentation on how to repair it, and how to create a new more compact CORE if necessary. The outside of the CORE was unwieldy and primitive in appearance but its deepest center resembled the internals of a fusion reactor. Various large tubes directed heat into a glowing object with a narrowly visible outline of a shape. Gaster placed on a heat resistant hazmat suit he had _acquired_. The shape being fed with energy was now obvious. A large clear crystal converting thermal energy into magic energy and then injected into a small grey heart with a large crack nearly splitting it in half.

 

He retrieved a small bottle of red liquid and dabbed it onto the ethereal object’s container.The crack vanished and the heart pulsed red before returning to a pale grey. He went to work on repairing the inner walls which had been cracked and rusted by centuries of use. The heat in the room decreased as the machine became more efficient. He started to repair a cable that redirected over 99% of the energy generated into a _certain_ area buried deep below the earth. The final minuscule dregs then powered the entirety of the Underground with ease. Another half hour, and disaster was now averted. He returned to the lab with a _pop_ and placed several dozen backup copies for Alphys to study, as well as a suit to enter safely.

 

“I still have more work to do, my work _must_ be completed. The barrier and the reset with it need to be destroyed.” The ancient skeleton sighed, and with a flash of blue he was gone.

 

In two labs two machines flicked on once more.

 

***

 

Ugh what’s that really annoying beeping sound? Oh I _really_ don’t want to open my eyes. But we have to go, it’s time to enter the CORE and end this little charade with Mettaton once and for all. I kept my eyes closed for _just_ a little extra time, until I heard a quiet feminine snore muffled by my side. Frisk had insisted on cuddling, and I just… couldn’t say no with her dang puppy eyes.

 

Damn my weakness for cute things. I… tend to go a little stupid when there’s something cute like a baby or a baby animal, and Frisk is even _worse_. With her eyes, and the way she looks at me like…

 

I matter…

 

R-Right um anyway need to wake her up, and get a move on.

 

“Frisk wake up.” I shook her lightly, and with a sigh she opened her eyes.

 

“O— _ahh_ ” She yawned, but she slapped her face, waking herself up. Chara had been sleeping at the edge of the bed. Over time I’ve noticed she’s been sleeping more and more, maybe a consequence of the energy needed to generate a physical body. I doubt she was making it from scratch though, maybe just making human cells from the surrounding organic matter with magic. It would take a great deal of energy, to do that and with her soul as weak as it is, it would tire her out. It then made me wonder on how far along her progress was.

 

“Hello?” I blinked as Frisk waved her hand in front of my face, I flushed and bumped her head. She only gave me a smile before moving away.

 

“You’re a really spacey person aren’t you?” I let out a nervous chuckle, agreeing with Frisk’s assessment.

 

I was always a very easily distracted person, daydreaming on a consistent basis. Probably not the best combo, in a place where you could randomly get ambushed by monsters.

 

“Um yeah, so shall we?” She shook her head, and I watched curiously as she got under the covers and was only visible as a bump under the covers. I was startled as music startled to play while Frisk wormed her way under the blankets. She slowly made her way toward an irate and still sleepy Chara and I heard a mischievous giggle as she drew closer.

 

Wait is she humming _Jaws_?! And as she stopped just short of Chara’s mushed face she roared, but fell out of the bed in the process, as did a terrorized Chara.

 

“Gah!”

 

‘Son of a—!’ Two thuds marked them falling onto their faces, and I cackled not able to help it.

 

 **“** Brandon!” Frisk whined and I jumped off the bed myself, walking over to help her up. I would have done the same for Chara… but you know _ghost_.

 

‘You _will_ regret this.’ Frisk looked away, and opened the door to get away from the furious blushing girl. I followed after her, and she briefly tried to chat up a janitor until thinking better of it, and leaving him to his work. We eventually headed back into the lobby, nearly getting lost in the surprisingly large hotel. We were at the entrance to the CORE.

 

“Um could we do what that letter said first?”

 

Letter? Oh right Catty and Bratty, uh I can’t see why not. I nodded my assent, and she pulled me with surprising force and speed.

 

The alley… was really dark and creepy, in the eerie light I could just make out the silhouettes of the crocodile and cat monsters. Catty was around my height, while Bratty was about a head taller than that. The two monsters seemed happy to see us, and Frisk waved to the two older girls

 

“Hey! Check it out!” Went Bratty.

 

“Yeah! Check it!” Went Catty, continuing her friend’s train of thought. They both had the stereotypical valley girl manner of speech. _Incredibly_ annoying to hear in real life, but I was doing this for Frisk’s sake rather than mine. Frisk’s eyes widened and she skipped over to the now surprised valley girls.

 

“Hi what are _your_ names?” I really hope this wasn’t going like I thought it was. The two girls grinned lightly at the nearly teen girls excitement and decided to answer.

 

“I’m Bratty, and this is my best friend Catty”

 

“I’m Catty, and this is my best friend Bratty.” They spoke simultaneously, and gave each other a glance before bursting out into laughter for a few seconds. I hadn’t really noticed too much, but talking with monsters had the same usual screen as battles but I just hadn’t bothered to notice since we never used it. The both talked at nearly the same time again, and Frisk closely paid attention to the girls marketing.

 

“We found it in the garbage!” There was a brief hilarious pause at Catty’s mistake that was quickly glossed over by the two girls. I wasn’t paying much if any attention, because while they were interesting. Social interaction just tended to drain me, unless I really liked the other person enough. I noticed Frisk’s expression subtlety shift as she learned new information. Eventually they ran out of topics, and wait Frisk is buying the gun(?!). She placed it away into the dimensional boxes and left it there. We waved goodbye and I heard the two girls make some conversation as we left.

 

“You know, the boy was kind of cute.”

 

“I know right!”

 

I put on my hood and walked faster, while Frisk gave me an amused smirk that made me growl. We left the alley and headed back into the hotel. I could see that Gaster hadn’t come back yet and I wondered what he was doing. I suspected he would not be with us, for most of the CORE. Which was unfortunate, we were now nearly completely without a guide.

 

‘Ahem.’

 

Except for Chara of course, still wonder what her deal is with Gaster. I opened the doors of the hotel, and marched right to the entrance to the CORE. I opened it, and the music from the hotel slowly faded away. I could see two monsters hiding in the shadows, and sneaking away from us. A ringing gave away Alphys calling, and Frisk picked up.

 

“Huh! Who are they? No-nobody else is suppose to be here… Oh well we can’t worry about that now!” Frisk gave me a worried look and I wondered if Mettaton had changed his mind on the not killing us thing. We walked along the path, and then.

 

We were here…

 

_—Play CORE—_

 

The elevator was completely nonfunctional, and couldn’t take us right to king Asgore. Alphys call went in without prompt.

 

“What? The elevator should be working…” Her confidence was shaken. “W-Well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!”

 

‘Chara check the right please.’ Chara gave a half salute and went through the door. She came back with an annoyed look and shook her head.

 

“It’s a dead end.” Alphys gasped her confusion self evident.

 

“It s-shouldn’t be! Uh forget it! Let’s try the left side.” There wasn’t anywhere else I could go. We ran over and entered and Alphys spoke up again.

 

“Okay, you should be able to make it through here…” Two shadowed monsters appeared and Alphys gasped in shock.

 

“W-Watch out!” The monster figures merged into one, revealing themselves to be a Madjick popping out of a hat.

 

‘ **Madjick pops out of it’s hat.** ’

 

“He—.” The monster spoke an unending barrage of meaningless gibberish, and I felt the world spin around me.

 

“Tinkle tinkle hoy.” Puureee nnomsemse, danit I can barely think straight. Chara was slightly dizzy, but still almost completely unaffected by the words. I wobbled, narrowly avvoiding hi—S strange attacks. I nnedded to clear my mind.

 

I thought of home…

 

Let’s give the little guy some mercy then. Madjick vanished back into his hat since we had defeated him. Frisk was shaking the dizziness off, and took a deep breath to calm herself.

 

“T-That was close… Why are there so many monsters here?” Alphys was slowly melting down, and I didn’t know what to do.

 

“Just take a deep breath Alphys, this is just how things have to go.” I replied, and she let out some breaths.

 

“H-How much do you know?” I sighed, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

 

“I know about _that_ lab.” There was a hitch in the reptile ladies breath, and Frisk only looked confused and out of the loop.

 

“Are you _sure_ everything is going well?” I shrugged.

 

“Things are _bound_ to go wrong, but there are people more qualified than _me_ working on keeping us alive, and that includes you.”

 

She hung up…

 

We stopped at the laser/Lightning bar blocking our path.

 

“Uh well when the button is pressed, the lasers _should_ come in pattern of orange, orange, blue” We nodded to her prediction.

 

“Blue, blue, orange.” We pressed the button and as usual two blue lasers, and then an orange on came up. We were now on the side of the glass sided bridge.

 

“You know this was going to happen didn’t you?” I nodded, with some guilt. There was some realization in her voice. “ _Wait_ you can’t or aren’t supposed to change how things are supposed to go!”

 

“You got it in one.” I complimented her on her quick assessment. We jogged, and skipped the Knight Knight on the right. The absolute shit load of magical lasers seems to frighten Frisk. I grabbed her hand to reassure her, hoping it would help. Frisk seemed the more touchy-feely type in the way she wants to be comforted, and I would comfort her however I could.

 

No matter how much I want her to just stay at Toriel’s that could never happen. One, she, Chara and I probably need to be in close range for the load and save to work effectively. Two the storyline can only have minor alterations, Frisk _has_ to be there. And three though I felt guilty about _even_ thinking it. I don’t know if I could this alone, and _wanted_ Frisk to be beside me. This would be so much easier if she wasn’t just a little(kinda?) kid, but I guess I don’t get what I want all the time.

 

…Let’s go right.

 

“M-More lasers… Okay I’ll just turn them off okay.”

 

“Turn off the power of the node.” I heard a quiet self admonishment over the phone. Frisk grasped my hand even tighter, and it actually started to hurt.

 

She was terrified and I…

 

Don’t panic, it’ll only scare her more.

 

“Just remember to stop the second she tells you okay.” She nodded meekly, and I hoped Alphys wouldn’t miss her cue. We power walked across the narrow bridge and I hear the crackle of the phone. I stood stock still, as did an even more frightened Frisk.

 

“STOP!!” The blue lasers activated but did no damage as we weren’t moving.

 

“The power… It’s turning itself back on. D-Damn it this isn’t, oh who am I kidding of _course_ it’s supposed to happen.”

 

“I-It’s okay please don’t c-cry.” Frisk’s voice cracked and I held tightly keeping her as still as possible.

 

“I’ll turn it off, and you need to move a little.” We didn’t say anything, and the lights flickered off. We pose walked again, and stopped as the lasers to turned back on with some warming. We moved again, and it took two more bursts of movement before we walked out of that death trap.

 

“You’re all going to be fine okay.” Alphys was reassuring herself as much as she was reassuring us.

 

That was terrifying… and Frisk seemed on the brink of tears. We stopped at a crossways with a SAVE point acting as the center, and I heard Alphys panic even more, no longer knowing what to do.

 

“I still remember the way if it hasn’t  been changed, it’s going to be fine I promise.” I heard Alphys nod on the phone and a click signaled that she had hung up. Frisk walked up and pressed the star, and Chara spoke up her voice a little shaky.

 

“ **The air is filled with the smell of ozone… it fills you with Determination.** ”

 

Right, we go left… oh there really was an odd smell in the air. I have no clue how Frisk would know how ozone smells like however. At the turn in the path though…

 

I could barely keep my eyes on the bright superheated layers of, is that _plasma_! Frisk eyes lit up as she saw the massive ice block pass on a conveyor belt. It dropped onto the floor and melted with a small explosion of steam, rattling my ears. I practically dragged Frisk, wanting to get this over with as quick as possible. The floor was red, an I walked away from the sign already knowing what we need to do. There was the shooter game, again and I needed to manipulate it _just_ right.

 

The I stopped as I remembered a third path, we could simply wait at the end for a minute and it would open. I thought of grabbing the Glamburger but we still had the two from earlier, so there was no need. I walked back from the plasma filled path, and went onto the eastward path and read the sign.

 

_I cannot fight. I cannot think. But with patience, I will make my way through._

 

I took a seat on the warm metallic floor, in a criss cross position. Frisk sat with me, despite her questioning look. There was a powerful barrier blocking our way and I waited. I closed my eyes, and thought about what was coming next. We were going to be facing up against Mettaton, and then this would be the home stretch. We could go straight to Asgore but that would create a Neutral run and we would have to fight Omega Flowey. I think we have to help Alphys with her feelings for Undyne first, then _maybe_ skip the True Lab if we’re able. I don’t want to traumatize Frisk more than she already is.

 

“It’s open.” Frisk was amazed, and I stood and walked in front of her to shield her. She gave me a look of irritation, and I shook my head as an Astigmatism drew near. It’s strange eye closed into a malicious grin, and I placed my hands up ready to fight.

 

“Pick on me!” I dodged left and right to avoid the white interconnected circles that acted as his or hers attack. Fortunately, there was an invisible barrier that kept me from falling off the edge and to my death. I decided to pick on Astigmatism.

 

“You’re weird looking!” Not my beer insult, but I couldn’t be bothered. The monster looked happy, and their malicious smile grew. I dodged another wave of circles, side stepping them. Frisk was too far back to get hurt by the attacks, and I let out sigh of relief as no one was hurt. It’s eye opener again, and it left growing bored of of our fight. But not before dropping 50 gold that Frisk picked up and stored away. No more monsters attacked us, and we were now at the door to Mettaton and then straight to Asgore. Frisk pressed the next save, and let out a shuddery breath.

 

‘ **Behind this door must be the elevator to the King’s castle. You’re filled with Determination.** ’

 

“Should… do you want to keep going?” I decided to ask Frisk, with how clammy her hands had gotten. I wondered what was so different now, how has she managed to go through the Pacifist route if she was like this. She _was_ a good enough person to want to save everyone, but… no _something_ was different. The ideas I was having about what made the first one different weren’t ones that put me at ease.

 

They said that the… _demon_ had taken her over after the true ending. But then how _long_ had that thing been waiting. Or had it been there the whole time, biding it’s time or even _influencing_ Frisk so she would finish the ending. If she could manipulate Flowey like that, surely she could do the same to Frisk. I turned back and pressed the button to go down, Frisk needed a break before going back up.

 

“Come on.” Just as I placed a foot inside, I was stopped as Frisk grabbed me and pulled me back. The elevator closed and went down without us. I turned over, and was shaken just a bit by Frisk’s determined face.

 

“I-I can do this, let’s go.” I nodded hesitantly and we walked side by side to the next room. Chara looked worried but steeled herself and kept pace with us. She frowned as we entered.

 

‘I really hope you know what you’re doing.’

 

Me too.

 

***

 

“ **Oh yes. There you are darlings. It’s time to have a little showdown. It’s finally time to stop the ‘malfunctioning’ robot. _But_ you already know this, I don’t know as dear old Alphys hasn’t told me a thing.**” Mettaton stood perfectly still while he continued his villainous speech. There was no funky music, no fake applause, just silence. I shuffled my inventory, to placed the Glamburger in front.

 

“ **This was all a big show, and you all followed for reason I don’t understand. She’s waiting outside this room to ‘save’ you. I had a whole deprecating speech ready, but _unfortunately_ it would fall on deaf ears. But I’ve had enough of this charade. I won’t harm humans, my only desire is to entertain. To put on a good show, and what’s a good show without a plot twist.**” The door behind him locked shut, and there was banging on the door.

 

“Dang it Mettaton what are you doing?!” Alphys sounded _angry_ and I took a low stance, as spotlights five spotlights shined down, one white, and four red.

 

“ **Sorry folks! The old program’s been cancelled!!!** ” Mettaton changed the programs while waving a hand in the air. “ **But we’ve got a finale that will drive you _wild_!!** I heard a mechanical clunk, and then…

 

 _BWOOM!!_ The platforms _flew_ , rising high up into the air and Mettaton let out a laugh.

 

“ **REAL DRAMA!! REAL ACTION!! ON OUR NEW SHOW…** **ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!!** I felt a lurch in my stomach as we stopped and held down the rising bile. Metal crusher played through the speaker within the room and the final boss fight before Asgore was here. I felt a pulse of energy from my phone and my soul turned yellow. I pointed my index finger, and it glowed with yellow energy.

 

“ **Yes I was the one that rearranged the CORE! I was the one to hire the monsters you skipped! It was a short-sighted plan. You know what would be a better plan! Taking your souls for myself!** ” Frisk’ eyes widened and she shot her lasers, as many times as possible. They only bounced off, and Mettaton laughed.

 

That _motherfucker_!

 

“ **Don’t you know what _acting_ is darling.**” I gave him a glare and he only laughed harder. There hadn’t been enough time to inform Mettaton about our plan Frisk gave up, and seemed unsure of what to do next.

 

“ **You had whatever your little plan was, but I see no proof of either of you being able to convince or defeat king Asgore. He will kill you and take both your SOULS and with their power destroy humanity.** ” I guess he did know _something_ about the plan, but it wasn’t convincing. He started his attack a wave of boxes being thrown at us. I felt a surge of power, and pumped it into my finger. We jumped away from the attacks, and shot any that got to close. There was a long pause, and we looked at each other in confusion.

 

“ **At least that was what I would say, if a little spider hadn’t given me some information.** ”

 

Muffet?! Mettaton gave a haughty laugh at the look on my face.

 

“ **Oh _yes_ , she told me how you fought valiantly to defend her against a nefarious and mysterious flower. Oh _darling_ you should have seen the way she swooned, as she described her tale.**” Frisk stifled a girly giggle at my blush and I probably pouted in embarrassment.

 

“ **The strength of your bodies, as well as the power of your magic! Perhaps there is hope yet.** ” We smiled, maybe there was a chance for us to get around him without any more fighting.

 

“ **But…** ”

 

Oh no…

 

“ **You need to prove yourselves. Show me your resolve here and now darlings!! Because if you are not strong enough** …” There was a flip of a switch as _Mettaton_ grasped with his right hand himself. Both Frisk and Chara jolted as they felt a burst in magical energy radiate from Mettaton’s body.

 

“ **You will die, and I will stop Asgore’s plan myself!!”** Mettaton’s boxy body shook with unleashed power.

 

“ **THIS WILL BE MY LAST SHOW!!!** ” Frisk gasped, and I heard Papyrus cry out from miles away. An explosion followed, and Mettaton glowed with an aura of power and magic. His body twisted and turned, shifting his form. His upper half exploded upwards, revealing a shadowy thin figure. His gorgeous legs were the first to approach from the fog, his model thin torso revealing itself next. His arms and arms came out next, his manicured fingers pointed directly at us. His new face now revealed to the world, and he posed with a wide and cocky smirk. He was tall, rivaling Toriel and Undyne in sheer height. He lifted up a long leg and a heeled foot cracked the stage floor with one kick.

 

“Oh no!” That would be me.

 

“Oh no!” That would be Frisk

 

‘Oh no! _And_ that would be Chara.

 

“ **OHHH YESSS!!!** ”

 

Mettaton EX was here…

 

The stage lit up in a purple hue, and dozens of cameras were filming our every movement. Frisk closed her eyes and removed her cloak revealing the shining armor underneath, she tied the sleeves together and tucked in the hoodie, turning it into a full on cape. Mettaton paused for a moment, shiny eyes actually widening in subtle horror at the now more obviously noticeable marks on her arms. He shook his head, and went back to his smirk masking any discomfort. Music started to play, and my eyes widened as “Death by Glamour” played.

 

— _Play Death by Glamour Nitro—_

 

Instead of removing my cloak like Frisk did, I instead reached out for the power of my SOUL. My body lit up with energy, generating a powerful aura.

 

“ **PROVE YOURSELVES!! PROVE TO THE UNDERGROUND THAT YOU CAN SAVE HUMANS AND MONSTERS!!!** ”

 

Oh de—

 

I paid for my distraction with a heel kick to the stomach and the wall behind me cracked as I hit it. Frisk yelled out, but a shield blocked a triple air kick from the long legged TV star, and it resonated with the impact.

 

‘Oh _no_ he’s hot!’ Chara said horrified and Mettaton laughed haughtily.

 

“ **Why _thank_ you darling, your compliment is much obliged!**” I took a sore double take at the realization that Mettaton could _see_ Chara. She looked like a deer in headlights. I noticed out of the corner of my eyes, a huge screen with ratings staying steady at around 4000 plus. I took a look at my HP and my eyes widened.

 

**30/30 HP**

 

I had more HP now, but I hadn’t killed any monsters. Maybe those stats can just increase naturally?

 

Oh cr—

 

I leaped away as Mettaton threw a supercharged slice of his hand, and I could see the air displaced by the magically enhanced attack. He snapped his finger, and dozens of miniature robot drones started their attack. Frisk smirked and jumped up into the air. She hopped from robot to robot, her makeshift cape flapping in the wind. Each robot exploded as she stomped on them like robotic goombas. She landed in a superhero landing.

 

“Not the best landing for your knees?” She nodded painfully, but she stood up anyway.

 

“Hey Mettaton!” The fierce robot fighting machine remained as cheerful as ever. I kept still as a barrier formed under my fight and rose up into the air. She communicated her idea through our minds and I skied with glee. I placed my hand onto it and injected it with some _integrity_. The barrier flexed back like a spring and…

 

“CATCH!!” I was lunged forward and gave Mettaton a kick right in his pretty face. I swear I saw a circular ripple of air as the diva exploded backwards. A resounding boom echoed, and from a small pile of rubble, the robot picked himself up completely unscathed. He looked right _pissed_ and with another snap of his fingers summoned laser shooting disco balls. He cleaned away some motor oil from his lightly scratched face and I _grinned_.

 

“ **Oh this is going to a _good_ show!**” Mettaton rocketed forward, throwing down kicks that I dodged over and over. The ratings had already gone into the 5000s, and Frisk let our a war cry. She swept aside Mettaton’s blows, and generated a bubble, but for just a moment time seemed to slow. A little addition of some _red_ , and spikes formed taking the robot down a notch or twelve.

 

“I’m really on a _roll_ huh!?” Frisk spun her hamster ball like a tire and dust clouds were blown as it acted like a giant fan. She flew at Mettaton, and smacked into him like a wrecking ball. It was my time for a one liner.

“ **Don’t think you’ll beat me so easily!** ” I gave him a cheeky grin, and summoned a purple lasso. I wrapped him up, and _pulled._

 

I swung him round, and round, like a merry go round.

 

“ **Stop**.” One turn.

 

“ **SPI—**.” Two turns.

 

“ **ING** ” Three turns.

 

“ **ME!!** ” I let go and watched with an admittingly sadistic glee, and the ghost once known as Hapstablook crashed into another wall. He screamed, struggling out of his binds. I gave Frisk, and with a nod we began.

 

“I guess Mettaton is a little _tied_ up.” He struggled even more, and the ratings hit 6000.

 

“We have him on the _ropes_.” Mettaton started to glow with unadulterated rage. Chara gave him a _strong_ look of contempt, and it was now her turn.

 

“Wonder how the _fabulous_ Mettaton will get out of this _bind_.” Her voice was spoken out loud, and Chara let out an eep as the microphones picked up he voice.

 

“ **THAT’S IT!!!** ” My rope _exploded_ , and a seething Mettaton hit me with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.

 

_CRACK!_

 

Oh god the pain!!! Frisk growled, and with surprising quickness reset my jaw in its rightful place. I took out a Glamburger and all the cameras immediately focused onto the _disgusting_ product. Mettaton smiled as an opportunity for advertisement arose. I grabbed the sandwich and started to chew on it’s strange purple taste. Don’t ask me how food tastes _purple_ , I don’t want to know.

 

“ **Ohhh! It seems our guest stars know just what brand they need for themselves. A delicious and wonderful Glamburger. Fantastic for a life or death situation!** ”

 

“You m— dang it I can’t say anything bad on live air!” Chara was furious, unable to express her true feelings since people can actually hear her now.

 

 **“Ohhh my there seems to be a third contender in the ring! Chara was it? Say hello to the audience my darling** ” Chara grew pale, and I stiffened as I noticed that she was _visible_ if fairly faint to the eye.

 

_What?_

 

 _“_ What?”

 

“What?”

 

***

 

Toriel had been taking a nap until she had heard some commotion outside. She rushed out from her home, to find some monsters viewing an event from a 60 inch television. She had no idea what they were watching but grew curious as the whispers grew in intensity and excitement. She lifted up her big ears, wanting to eavesdrop on her fellow monsters.

 

“Ribbit Ribbit.”

 

“(Naveen look it’s the humans from before.)” Toriel stiffened, fearful and paranoid as to why the two young ones were on television.

 

“They’re battling Mettaton.” The second a shy Whimsun uttered battle, Toriel was there barrelling into half a dozen monsters on her motherly rampage. She sat down, and watched intensely as the fight with… is that little Hapstablook(?) started. Her fear eventually shifted into amazement and pride, as the two humans children faced off against the odd robots attacks. She was worried as they fought back with immense power until she took a closer look. She smiled, while their attacks looked powerful, the hostile ghost possessed robot accrued no real damage. She gasped and giggled and two humans antics. But her eyebrows started to furrow at some of the odd statements the monster was making, but one especially froze her to the CORE.

 

“ **Ohhh my there seems to be a third contender.** ” The monster women only shook her head, before narrowing her eye at a blurry green figure off to the side

 

“ **Chara was it? Say hello to the audience my darling!** ” Toriel felt a cool chill down her spine, and collapsed to the ground as she heard that for the first time in what felt liked decades.

 

“M-My child…” She whispered and her vision went blurry with tears, as the confused outline became more clear.

 

_That should not be possible. It can not—_

 

“C-Chara.” Toriel cried out, scarcely able to believe her own words.

 

***

 

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!!!

 

“~ **Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure Mettatonation~”**

 

“Stop ruining my movies you son of a b— uh gun!” Chara ducked under the purple glowing karate chop of Mettaton.

 

“Halt Mettaton, Stop this madness!!” Frisk said in a strangely familiar voice.

 

Wait… is she copying English dub All Might’s voice? The young girl wall kicked, and in midair fired two yellow bolts from her fingers. The bolts flew through the air, and Mettaton arms were nearly ripped out of their hinges. I fired in the robots moment of distraction, and his arms were fully blown off.

 

“Uh this isn’t going to kill him right?” Frisk looked a little guilty at the armless robot.

 

“Nah, he should be fine.” Mettaton shook his head, and his smirk rose up again. He tapped his heels together, and in a burst of light dozens of Minis and bombs appeared.

 

“ **Smile for the camera!!!!** ” Half of the wave targeted Frisk while the other half went after me.

 

I charged up, and blasted the Mini’s ducking and weaving around the bombs. I grabbed several with ropes and threw them back toward the magnificent robotic star. There was a loud _crack_ and his left leg smoked, the plating damaged but still standing. He leapt toward, with his right leg aimed for my head. I jumped back and reciprocated with my own kick, which he blocked with his left. A shockwave blew us apart and I felt a pop in my leg. I reached out for food and was pleasantly surprised by a Starfait, and ate it gladly. Out of of the corner of my eye, I could see that the ratings were now in the 10,000s. He turned to Frisk, instead of me and they _danced._

 

Frisk cart wheeled away from another kick, and held up her entire body with one hand. She gave the surprised superstar a flirty wink, and with a smirk hand sprung into the air and back on her feet. She tapped her feet on the hard floor, dodging further attacks from Mettaton. She leaped into the air, and fell into a crouch thus ducking under another kick. She _blurred_ and was suddenly behind a shocked Mettaton, she hooked her arms behind the robot and _suplexed_ him because she could. Mettaton got a foothold on the floor, and jumped away from his temporary entrapment. He kept his distance, and Frisk had a mischievous look on her face

 

Frisk gyrated her hips, and gave a furious Mettaton a come-here gesture with her fingers.

 

“ **Why you!** ” More of his drones attacked, and I decided to save Frisk the trouble. My fingers turned purple instead, and dozens of small strings wrapped around all the bots. I knew _exactly_ what I wanted to say.

 

“COME OVER HERE!” I _pulled_ them all back, creating a ball of twisted metal and magic. My left fist glowed purple and once the ball was within arms reach, I pulled back fist and with a _twist_ of my body punched. The ball _exploded_ in a ball of fire and harmless shrapnel. I posed and brushed my hair back dramatically, going full on anime pretty boy.

 

Mettaton came close to growling, but stopped and with another click of his heels a three drones with a screen hovered over to us.

 

“ ** _Ohh_ but before we can continue our battle, a pop quiz!**” The screen flashed and the essay prompt was shown.

 

_Essay Prompt:_

_Why do you_

_love most about_

_Mettaton?_

 

Chara had a flat look on her face, but accepted the challenge anyway. She was pensive but typed quickly. I followed behind her, and Frisk went into action furiously typing into the tablet like screen. There was a buzzing sound as he received the answers.

 

“ **Oh an interesting answer if simple answer from the handsome gentlemen and the lovely young lady** ” I glanced away, growing flustered while Frisk flipped her hair confidently. Though her light blush betrayed her actual embarrassment.

 

“ **They answered the prompt with “Legs”** I nodded, feeling it was the correct answer.

 

“ **Now for the _other_ lovely young women.**” Chara scoffed, and glared openly against Mettaton. He read the multiple sentence she had written, and blanched. He coughed, and I  wondered just how bad it was.

 

“ **You should know that this is a family friendly show.** ” She shrugged, we and went back to fighting.

 

He was _angry_. Close to a _hundred_ drones were summoned and I gave Chara a look of horror.

 

“What the heck did you say to him!!??” Not believing what I was seeing out of Mettaton.

 

“You and I both know you don’t really want to know what I just wrote.” I sighed and ducked under another kick.

 

“ **You can’t defeat legs like _this_.** ” Mettaton openly posed, showing his long, _long_ legs.

 

Ahem… Frisk dual wielded two finger guns, taking out dozens of robots. She spun on her back, and slowly lifted until she was spinning on her head like a top. Any robots that got too close was sucked in and kicked to pieces.

 

Holy _hell_ , where did she learn moves like _that_?

 

_WHOOSH!_

 

I slammed my hand into Mettaton’s and with a metallic clang bitched slapped him into a wall. I looked at my hand in amazement, and then it—

 

Oh jeez, _OWWW_ that fucking smarts! I waved my hand, trying to block out the pain of slapping super dense metal.

 

“Let’s finish this!!” Frisk had taken down the rest of the drone’s with a spike bubble explosion attack.

 

“ **Let’s finish this indeed my excellent guests!!** ” Mettaton pulled himself out from some more rubble, a dented mark on his pretty face from my slap. It almost made me feel bad, that I had ruined such a pretty face. He got into a stance and dashed toward us. I swore I heard a _sonic_ boom as he tried to tackle one of us, and with a side look with Frisk we _fired_.

 

Four powerful bolts of justice detonated against those beautiful legs and Mettaton fell into a limbless heap. A small green barrier cushioned his fall, and I turned to Frisk, thinking she had helped. She shook her head, looking at me with wide eyes. I looked at my right hand, to find that it was splayed out and had a green glow.

 

Huh, neat…

 

“ **It seems you have won, darlings…** ” I picked up the talking torso with a grunt, and placed him upright on the shiny floor.

 

“I guess…” Frisk scratched her head in slight guilt at the immobile machine, and I patted her head with a smile. A ringing sound started to show up, which I tracked to Mettaton.

 

“Their calling you.”

 

“ **Ah yes, could one of you please lend me a hand.** ”

 

“Ehhh.” Frisk snapped her fingers at the pun, and Mettaton’s eyebrows twitched.

 

“Uh where?” I asked, deciding to speed this up.

 

“ **The button on my chest.** ” I sighed and pressed the button and multiple calls went in from the speakers in the walls.

 

“ **Ohhh, the first call on my last episode! Speak your mind!** ” There was a long pause that disturbed the robot ghost, and Frisk seemed concerned herself.

 

“………oh…………hi mettaton……” Mettaton froze as the quiet and sad voice of his cousin could be heard through the speakers. “i really liked watching your show…. i think’s it’s nice that…you want to protect them…. i wish it wasn’t like this though…. i could live vicariously…through you. i’ll miss you mettaton…. oh…i’m sorry……. i took up too much time…. ohhh…sorry…”

 

“ **NO WAIT BL—**.” Mettaton was too late and couldn’t reach out of his cousin one last time. “ **Oh… oh my.** ”

 

Other calls were coming in, and I decided to answer for him. Frisk rubbed her hands together in nervousness.

 

“OH MY GOSH METTATON DON’T GO! WE LOVE YOU!”

 

“YEAH TOTALLY!”

 

Three guesses who those two were. Another call went in, and Mettaton had a sad expression.

 

“Hey, don’t go. It’d be a mighty shame if you left, I-I liked your show.” That was Wildfire I think, didn’t know she was a fan.”

 

Frisk tapped to the next desperate caller.

 

“Please don’t go, I couldn’t bear to have a Mettaton sized hole in my Mettaton sized heart!”

 

“Hey…”

 

Undyne?

 

“I’m not really a big fan of your show but tonight… YOU AND THE KID’S WERE AWESOME! LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF AN ANIME!! If you made more shows like that, I’d totally watch it!” Mettaton sounded moved by the fish knights unusual compliment.

 

Next call…

 

“DO NOT FEAR METTATON! BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM HERE! I’LL HELP YOU WITH CHANGING KING ASGORE’S MIND! TOGETHER, WE CAN END THIS WAR AND SAVE MONSTERS AND HUMANS!” There was a shuffling on the line, and the clicking of small claws.

 

“You’re a strange one alright but… you have a good heart. Metaphorically speaking of course. I know some people who live near the mountains, who would enjoy the color and joy you would bring in their lives. That’s not something that’s common on the surface but you monsters could change that…” Mettaton glanced at Frisk’s old injuries, and she covered them in anxiety. The speakers grew silent, as a despondent Mettaton stopped taking any more calls.

 

“ **I…see…. Everyone thank you so much for the support.** ” Chara’s hate for Mettaton seemed to soften at the sincerity in his eyes. She visibly relaxed, and she drifted down to the ground, a thud as her feet met the cold floor.

 

“ **It seems I may have to delay my debut on the surface for some time… _but_ only until you reach Asgore and convince him of the truth.**”

 

“I promise you we’ll save everyone _and_ break the barrier!” Mettaton smiled at Frisk’s resolve. Her brave expression faltered, as the lights of Mettaton flickered and his expression fell.

 

“ **Ah…the battery efficiency of this form does not seem to be quite to snuff.** ”

 

“H-Hey w-wait!” Frisk started to panic until the robot diva gently shushed her.

 

“ **I’ll be alright. As long as Alphys is around. Now…it’s up…all of you… to save us…** ”

 

Mettaton’s eye closed shut, and his light shut off.

 

All at the same time, all the power went off. The lights, the background music, the screens, and the cameras. We were left in relative darkness, only the light of our souls left to shine in the shadows.

 

I heard a _whoosh_ , and a panicked and worried Alphys skittered inside. Her feet pattering, and scratching the ground for traction.

 

“OH! OH MY GOODNESS IS HE OKAY!?”

 

“He’s alright.” I picked him up with relative ease. Just his torso must have weighed dozens of kilograms, but I managed.

 

“His battery died.” Frisk explained the situation sufficiently. Alphys reaches out for Mettaton and I passed his body to her. She placed him down with shaky hands and claws. She felt out his body and frowned at the scuffs and scratches all over his metal plating. Before she went to speak, she caught Chara in her peripheral vision. The look on Alphys face was unreadable, and I brushed my hair aside unsure of what to say.

 

“You’re going to explain _this_.” Alphys gesturing to the ghost girl. “Eventually right?” We nodded, seeing no reason to hide it any longer.

 

“But now isn’t the time, first let’s get him out of here.” We nodded and the three of us picked him up. We moved him close to the entrance before deciding to clean up the place a bit. I focused on _integrity_ and lifted up the rubble from our fight into several neat piles. What I couldn’t pick up was moved by Frisk and Alphys and we were done.

 

“Uh how are we going—.”

 

“Hello.”

 

“AHHHH!!!” All four of us screamed, with a smug Gaster clearly enjoying our terror. He was a little scuffed up, and gulping down several Nice creams. Alphys face turned red and she punched him in the arm. He drew back in shock, while Alphys eeped as she realized what she had done.

 

“I deserved that.” He rubbed the back of his and then his bruised(?) arm.

 

“But I can get you to the lab to repair him.” She nodded and the two _popped_ out of existence. We waited for a couple of seconds and he returned with another pop.

 

“To Snowdin?” We nodded, wanting to rest, but just before he could placed his hand on our shoulders, Frisk’s phone rung. She took it out of a pocket, and when she saw the number she _gaped_. She picked up the call with haste and I wondered why she was in such a hurry.

 

“I watched the… show….” I quirked an eyebrow as freaking Toriel was calling. That was when it hit me.

 

Mettaton mentioned _Chara’s_ name and she had become visible during the battle.

 

“Uhhhhh…yeaahhh.” Man Frisk was nervous as hell at the tone in Tori’s voice.

 

Wait…can I give her a nickname? I’m going to be an adult in a few months, they can do that kind of stuff right?

 

Not the best time for a tangent Brandon…

 

And don’t talk to yourself in the third person.

 

Because that’s crazy…

 

“We’re going to have a _lot_ to talk about young lady.” Toriel’s voice was stern and Frisk whispered into the phone with fear. The phone call ended in silence. She rushed over to me as we teleported and we were now in Snowdin.

 

“Goat mom is scary.” She whispered and I nodded. She reminds me _way_ too much of how angry _my_ mom can get, when I frustrate her. She gave me a hug, and with a sigh I hugged back.

 

“At least _you_ wouldn’t punish me right?” She batted her long eyelashes at me, and I gave her a weirded out look.

 

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” Chara facepalmed and Gaster gave me a dry look. My breath hitched just a _teensy_ bit at the look that Frisk was giving me.

 

“Just because I…um it’s nothing.” She looked despondent and I hugged her tighter, unsure of how to feel about this.

 

“I…sorry I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” She looked up at me with a sweet smile, and I flushed just a little bit.

 

NOT A LOT!!

 

S-Shut up Gaster, I can hear you laughing at me!

 

Frisk reluctantly let me go, and pointed with her lips to something behind me. There Undyne, sans, Papyrus, and Red were casually walking side by side, Frisk looked at me for permission and I nodded. She grinned and _leaped_ clearing the 30-meter distance in a quarter of a second. Undyne grinned, and ruffled a happy Frisk’s hair. I walked in a pseudo jog and got there in a couple of seconds.

 

“YOU’RE OKAY HUMANS, ALL _THREE_ OF YOU! NOT THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS WORRIED OR ANYTHING.” I grinned up at the goofy skeleton, and with some trepidation gave him a friendship hug. He beamed and hugged back, and accidentally picked me up.

 

“You’re finally getting the idea that physical affection is _great_.” Frisk said with her index finger and her thumb rubbing her chin, and her eyes closed.

 

Shut up, Frisk. Papyrus put me down, and I stumbled as Undyne gave me light punch that felt more like a body slam. I trembled but my body kept itself upright despite the force.

 

“Man you guys were _badass_ out there, you put up a better fight against Mettaton this you ever did against me. But your technique could _really_ use some refinement.” Is she saying what I think she’s saying? “So maybe I can give you guys some training if you want.” She looked a little bashful and I nodded ferociously.

 

“YESS!!” Frisk clearly wanted in and her smile grew massively, while Chara shook her head in bemusement at her enthusiasm.

 

“Ah my little bird.” Red was ecstatic to see Frisk, and brushed his head against her neck. She smiled more softly and gave her “great uncle.” a warm hug. The old man bones seemed a little rattled. I heard a small sniff, and some snot left his nostrils. If he was human, there would be old man tears frozen on the ground and I would feel uncomfortable.

 

“heh, he was a little worried when he got wind of the fight.” That makes a lot of _san_ se.

 

“I…I’m sorry that we messed up and failed to keep that damn flower off your tail.” Undyne seemed ashamed and I shook my head, not wanting her to be down.

 

“Everything was fine in the end and nobody got seriously hurt.” Frisk nodded and Undyne sighed and rubbed her face in frustration.

 

“Right, so uh Gaster how long do we have until that thing gets out of wherever we put him.”

 

“Oh he’s already left.”

 

_What?_

 

Before Undyne could scream out, her stopped her with his hand and he kept talking.

 

“Let me finish. He’s been freed but it will take him time, and he’s been forced to return to his usual role.” I really hope we don’t all die.

 

“He hasn’t seen the fight right?” Maybe if he knew Chara was there he would stop? Gaster froze and he slapped his face with his right hand with a deep sigh.

 

“That would have made things _so_ much easier.” I groaned and rubbed my head, as I felt a headache coming in.

 

“MOVING ON FROM THIS TOPIC. I BELIEVE UNDYNE HAS A LETTER SHE WANTS YOU TO DELIVER!” Undyne became flustered and I heard her quietly babble in embarrassment. She rubbed her hands together and I could hear her psyche herself up under her heavy breath.

 

“Uh right I have a favor to ask.” I nodded. “Since you’re already friends with Alphys could you give her this letter.” She passed it onto my hands and I gave to Frisk as revenge for getting Tsunderplane interested in me, and laughing at me with my girl troubles…

 

But mostly because I’ll be hilarious as all hell to watch.

 

“Ok sure.” She grinned and gave me a nervous thumbs up.

 

“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to leave you again.” Gaster looked apologetic, and Frisk’s frowned.

 

“yeah, we have _something_ we need to take care of for our plan to work.” sans said surprising his brother.

 

“SANS?” Papyrus questioned the eldest but sans shook his head.

 

“it’ll be fine. it’s some science stuff we need to prepare, it’s easy peasy” Papyrus nodded, sufficiently mollified by his brother’s confidence.

 

“SHOULD WE WAIT HERE?”

 

“yeah, you’ll know when you need to go.” sans pointed in a certain direction.

 

“you’re gonna have to take the River Person to Hotland to deliver undyne’s love letter.” Undyne flushed at sans instructions and grumbled under her breath. The two older skeleton’s waved goodbye and disappeared in a flash of blue. Red stayed behind, and I was relieved that we wouldn’t be going alone.

 

 **“** Shall we get going?” We nodded and Frisk unfurled her cloak, blocking out the biting cold.

 

“Yeah let’s go.”

 

We were reaching the end of the Undertale.

 

***

 

“are you sure this is a good idea? the last time this machine was active a bunch of people were dusted, and you were erased from existence.”

 

“Of course I’m sure! I’ve had a literal _eternity_ to figure out what I had done wrong. Besides the only reason that happened was because I was completely out of my head.”

 

“oh definitely…” The long drawn out voice of sans made Gaster groan and he lightly tapped his numbskull of a son on the head.

 

“but why do you need to combine the DT extractor with the machine?” sans asked with a curious and wary tone as they hauled the machine hidden in the basement into the True Lab, though the Amalgamates seemed to ignore them. The two scientist were thankful, and the strange machine under the sheet was connected together by Gaster for an unknown purpose.

 

“It’s the only way to stop _her_ from taking this timeline for herself, and it will weaken her power substantially, returning the Determination she’s stolen from countless alternate universes.”

 

“how do you know that?” sans grew angry and suspicious as Gaster didn’t seem to have any prior knowledge on the anomaly in the flashback he had been shown.

 

“You have no idea, do you?” sans shivered at the self loathing within the doctor’s voice. He took a step back as the skeleton laughed bitterly and with a hint of madness.

 

“This cycle of death and insanity is _all_ my fault. You think a mere _child_ would have enough power to destroy our reality with a single attack!! Don’t make me laugh.” Gaster pulled off the cloth, revealing a triangular shaped metal structure. He lifted it and and the DT extractor was placed into its center. He modified the wiring to isolate the potentially volatile system, and the machine started to hum with power and energy.

 

“what the hell did you do?!” sans asked bewildered and even frightened by his father’s statement.

 

“Without my madness, without _her_ whisperings we would all have been free since the very first timeline. We can’t destroy her, but we can reduce her to a mere deity rather than the GOD that she currently is.”

 

“dad…” sans could only watch as his father berated himself. Gaster sagged and his hands touched the sides of the machine he had fallen into all those years ago.

 

“I have to fix everything I destroyed when I brought her to this world.”


	8. Chapter Seven: Dark Darker yet Darker

**Chapter Seven: Dark Darker yet Darker**

 

So we’re now standing in front of the door to Alphys lab, and I’m waiting for Frisk to drop the letter under the door, and get us started on the next step. Red is yawning in boredom, and scratching his metal leg with consistency.

 

“Frisk.” I stated simply.

 

“Okay, okay I’ll _just_ put it under the door.” Frisk slid it under, and I covered my smirk with my fist, not wanting to alert Frisk. She knocked to get Chara’s attention.

 

“O-Oh n-no, is that another letter…? I don’t want to open it.” Frisk seemed a little suspicious at the distressed tone in Alphys voice.

 

“I…no I can’t keep doing this. I’ll read this one.” There was a pause as Alphys struggled with something. “Oh… this letter is shut kind of strongly isn’t it?” Another pause followed and after some _disturbing_ noises the door to the lab opened and Frisk yelped and I placed her in front of me, not letting her escape. Alphys looked rather downtrodden and Frisk looked sympathetic and gently removed by hand from her tiny shoulders.

 

“Hey, if this is some kind of joke, it’s….” Our resident scientist looked up, and her eyes opened wide in shock. “OH MY GOD? Did YOU write this letter? It wasn’t signed, so,  I had no idea who could have.” Frisk flushed but kept silent out of embarrassment. I barely kept my face straight and any time Frisk did try to speak, Red coughed loudly covering over her whispered words.

 

“Oh my god. Oh no. That’s adorable… And I had no idea you that you uh wrote that way. It’s surprising, after all the things I tried to do… I don’t deserve to be forgiven. Much less this… and so passionately too.” Oh Frisk was _red_ , and her left hand curled into a fist and punched me in the gut where Alphys wouldn’t notice.

 

HOW IS SHE SO STRONG! That HURTS LIKE A—

 

“You know what, okay! I’ll do it! It’s the least I can do to make it up to you! Yeah let’s go on a date!” I stepped to the side, while Frisk paled at the idea. The usual dialogue box appeared but I couldn’t see Alphys from any angle.

 

“Uhh, sorry! I’m still getting dressed!” Frisk blushed, and I took a step back as a mental image I _didn’t_ need to know was downloaded into my head.

 

I didn’t need to know that Alphys looked like in a banana dress with a top hat.

 

…

…

 

I feel like I missed a joke somewhere but I can’t recall it off the top of my head. I scratched my head as Red looked nostalgic and gave the closest he could to a grin.

 

“Ahhh…just like her father.”

 

I…don’t want to know what the hell that’s supposed to mean. The lab door reopened and out came Alphys in a somewhat form fitting polka dot dress. She looked a little unnerved while Frisk only muttered some weak curses under her breath.

 

“So um how do I look. My friend helped me pick it out. She’s got a great sense of…. Um anyway! Let’s do this thing!”

 

Dating start played and then stopped playing as Alphys shouted out, and Frisk sighed in relief.

 

“Uh I’ve… got to give you some gifts for our date first. That should the chances of success better, right? Anyway, don’t worry I’m prepared! I-I’ve been stockpiling gifts to just such an occasion. First I’ve got some metal armor polish.” Frisk face gave the lizard lady a flat look, but briefly glanced at her Temmie armor before looking Alphys straight in the eye. She held onto her cloak, and purposely blocked off any view of her vest.

 

“Oh maybe you can’t use that. _But_ I also brought some waterproof cream for you scales.” Frisk poked her own pudgy face as if to say “really?” And Alphys started to sweat. “Uh what about this magical spear repair kit.”

 

“Magical spears have to be fixed?” Frisk murmured unable to understand _how._

 

“Uh hmm, maybe this isn’t the best place to date.” Frisk said nothing, and I felt contact embarrassment for the both of them. A few cringe inducing seconds later and Red and I followed the two poor bastards to the Dump.

 

“Here we are. This is where Undyne and I come all the time. We find all sorts of great stuff here. Heh she’s really…” She stopped and Frisk gave her a look of sympathetic pity.

 

“Oh no.” I heard intense music play, and I wondered if that was magic of some sort. “That’s her over there, I can’t let her see me like this!” Frisk tilted her head in question and Alphys flushes even more. “Because…uh…Well… Oh no here she comes!!” She hid behind the really tall trash bag nearby, and Frisk stiffened as Undyne jogged up to us in a really cool looking black leather jacket.

 

“Hey!! There you are!!” She stared down at Frisk with a friendly grin. “I, uh, realized that if you delivered that thing…It might be a bad idea. So I’m gonna do it!!! Give it to me!!!” Frisk whispered quietly and Undyne’s smile fell into a small frown.

 

“Huh?! You don’t have it? Ngggaaahhh!!” Frisk whimpered just a bit, and I started to feel bad. “Have you at least seen her?” Frisk shook her head, and Alphys looked relieved from behind the shaking trash can. Undyne yelled in frustration and ran off into the distance leaving us in her dust. Alphys emerged from her hiding spot, with supreme embarrassment and I couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Pfffttt.” Both females glared at me But I didn’t care.

 

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!” I started to wheeze after laughing for an entire minute and pounded my own chest as my heart seized.

 

“…You _knew_ this would happen.” Frisk hissed, and I pulled her up into a hug that flustered her. I nuzzled her no longer being able to hold back my growing affection for the girl. She was just too cute, and I have a powerful weakness for cute things.

 

Like puppies, kittens, baby crocodiles, babies… and Frisk.

 

“I thought you didn’t like this kind of stuff.” Frisk wasn’t protesting much and I grinned at her.

 

“I’m only uncomfortable when they’re either the same age or older.”

 

“How does _that_ make any sense.” I shrugged and put her down. I’m not good with giving out affection to older people, it feels weird. If they’re young, like a baby I just want to hug them, squish their cheeks and give them kisses.

 

Is that weird…?

 

I did(do?) that with my baby half brother all the time.

 

“Uh hello?” Oh right Alphys.

 

“Right you want some help with getting the confidence to tell Undyne your feelings right?” The lizard scientist nodded, and I placed Frisk in front of her.

 

“Obviously you can role play with Frisk.” Frisk lit up at the idea and gave a thumbs up, because even if a date makes her nervous, flirting doesn't.

 

Somehow…

 

Alphys placed her hand to her mouth and mulled it over.

 

“…That actually sounds kind of fun.” Frisk grinned, and waggled her eyebrows suggestively, fortunately for Alphys sanity she was looking down at her hand at the time.

 

“OK, which one of us will be Undyne?” Frisk puffed out her chest and banged her fist against her armor, making a loud banging sound.

 

“Oh. Right. Obviously. Ehehe.” Alphys coughed and Frisk grinned even wider mimicking Undyne’s massive grin to the best of her ability.

 

“Ahem. Uh, h-hi Undyne… H-How are you doing today?” Frisk grinned as two answers appeared on the screen.

 

“YOur cute,” Frisk snapped her fingers and flirtatiously winked, with a smile on her face.

 

“WAIT WHAT!? I m-mean I know you always say that to me, but I know you mean it platonically.” Frisk palmed her face, and then returned to her blank stare. She smirked as Alphys decided to tell her something.

 

“THEN SHe Kisses YOU.” Alphys blushed, and Frisk gave herself a hi five, congratulating herself.

 

“WHAT!? UNDYNE WOULD NEVER. UH……… I kiss her back…S…softly…I look gently into her eyes.” Frisk squealed as she imagined the romantic scene. “I START HOLLERING!! UNDYNE I LOVE YOU!!! UNDYNE!!! KISS ME AGAIN!!!”

 

I clapped slowly and Alphys squeaked as a very shocked Undyne watched the whole thing with a _look_ on her face.

 

“ _What_ did you just say?” Alphys stepped back in surprise, and I  covered my snickers not wanting to invoke their wrath. I felt a tug on my cloak, and an amused Frisk whispered excitedly into my ear.

 

“This was _totally_ worth the embarrassment.” I smiled at the adorable _and_ hilarious scene.

 

“U-Undyne…I…was…just…” Alphys breathed heavily.

 

“Hey, woah, wait a second! Your outfit’s really cute! What’s the occasion?” Frisk paled and hid behind me unable to face Undyne. “Wait…are you two on a date?”

 

“UHH, YES!” Undyne’s face was terrifying though she _schooled_ it when she saw the frightened look on Frisk’s face. Alphys started to explain herself more clearly “I mean, UHH NO! I mean we were. But I mean we were only romantically role playing as you!

 

“Don’t deny your love Alphys!” I stopped any words of denial from being freed from Alphys scaly lips. Alphys sighed and seemed to agree with me.

 

“Undyne I’ve been lying to you!” Undyne looked bewildered not understanding what her friend meant.

 

“WHAT??? ABOUT WHAT???” Alphys expression became increasingly negative with each word.

 

“About…Everything! I told you that seaweed was scientifically important, really I just…use it to make cream.”

 

“I think you can eat bacon flavored seaweed.” I shut my trap when both females gave me a glare and I whistled innocuously.

 

Wait…?

 

I can’t whistle… How did I? Uh never mind…

 

“And those human history books I keep reading. Those are just dorky comic books. And the history movies…those…Those are just, uh, anime! They aren’t real!” Alphys took another step with each lie she revealed, until she was standing within arms length of her knight paramour.

 

“And that time I told you I was busy with work on the phone…… I was just eating frozen yogurt in my pajamas. And that ti—.” Undyne shushed her with her lips, stopping Alphys self deprecating rant.

 

“Alphys.” The named monster’s lips quivered and I felt a little awkward just being here.

 

“I-I just wanted to impress you! I just wanted you to think I was smart and cool. That I wasn’t some…nerdy loser.” Undyne looked moved and flattered and and rubbed her friends frill affectionately.

 

“Alphys.”

 

“Undyne, I…I really think you’re neat, OK…” Undyne dropped down to her knees to hug her close friend and Frisk squealed in delight.

 

“Shhhh. Shhhhh.” Alphys froze as Undyne picked her up, and I heard Chara cackle in the background. A basketball hoop appeared out of nowhere and Alphys fell through it and into a trash can.

 

“No my OTP!” Frisk yelled in despair.

 

“Alphys. I…think you’re neat, too, I guess. But, you’ve gotta realize… Most of what you said doesn't really matter to me. I don’t care if you’re watching kid cartoons or reading history books. To me, _all_ that stuff is just nerdy crap! What I like about you is that you’re _passionate_ about what you do. You’re _analytical_!! It doesn’t matter what it is! YOU CARE ABOUT IT!” Frisk blushed, the confession touching her heart.

 

“…so you don’t have to lie to me. I don’t want you to have to lie to anyone anymore. Alphys I want to help you be happy with yourself. And I know just _what_ you need.” Alphys feet and tail popped out to the trash can and she gave her soon to be girlfriend a look of awe and admiration.

 

“You’re gonna train me?” Undyne laughed, and from the shadows _he_ emerged in his full exercise and fitness glory. Papyrus jumped and stood between the two ladies.

 

“Nope Papyrus is gonna do it for me.”

 

“GET THOSE BONES SHAKIN!! IT’S TIME TO JOG 100 LAPS, HOOTING ABOUT HOW GREAT WE ARE!!” Undyne pulled out a timer from nowhere, and Alphys jumped.

 

“Ready? I’m about to start the timer!” Alphys and Papyrus vanishes into the garbage filled sunset, and the second they were out of sight the fish lady panicked. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I played a sped up version of Undyne’s theme as her face contorted into horror.

 

“OH MY GOD!!! She was kidding, right!? Those cartoons…those comics…Those are still REAL, right?” Her face was desperate and Frisk didn’t know to answer, this being outside the norm of normal humans.

 

“ANIME’S REAL. RIGHT?!?”

 

Oh _boy…_

 

“Um you see I’m sorry but anime is not real.” I swore I heard glass break and Undyne held her heart in despair.

 

“UH but don’t be sad, because while _that_ anime isn’t real. You _are_ anime!!”

 

“WHAT?!” She gave me a scathing look and I smiled reassuringly(I hoped.).

 

“C’mon a magic wielding Amazonian fish hero of justice who protects an underground kingdom of monsters. Heck Frisk is _literally_ a magic girl, that’s as anime as it can get!! Undyne you _made_ anime real!!!” I roared with an uncharacteristic energy and Frisk shouted side by side with Chara and I.

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT!! ALL THOSE SHOWS MIGHT NOT BE REAL!! BUT I AM…NO _WE_ ARE ANIME INCARNATE!! THANK YOU HUMAN.” I nodded, happy to help my fellow anime lover. Undyne calmed down from her high, and coughed awkwardly.

 

“Uhh, thanks for taking care of Alphys, even if you couldn’t bring out a better outcome with your future knowledge.”

 

“I _am_ only 17, I’m not exactly the one with a plan here.”

 

“Heh yeah. Things are going to get better for her right?” I nodded with a soft smile, knowing it should be true. Undyne stomped on the ground, and her left leg was moved back in a running stance.

 

“Well, I guess I have to catch up with them! Later!”

 

 _BOOM!_ And she was gone from our line of sight in seconds.

 

“Heh.” Red was cackling, his cries sounding very much like that of a crow and if he was human he would be slapping his knees. “You have too much of your father in you, little bird.”

 

“Um what does—.” Surprisingly it was Frisk that answered raising her hand and placing it on my shoulder.

 

“Uh well my dad was alway a bit of a flirt with _everyone_. It didn’t matter what age, species, or gender they were he would flirt with them. Said it was the best way to make friends and I _may_ have taken him seriously.”

 

That’s…something.

 

“I think it’s time to go.” Chara chimes in, her voice sounded a little off and she yawned. I guess that would make sense, it’s pretty late. Frisk’s hand glowed and dozens of horizontal barriers formed a floor like from much earlier in the day. Within a few minutes we had left the smelly garbage dump behind once again. Right after we left, we got a call and Frisk picked up her phone.

 

“HOWDY! IF IT ISN’T MY GOOD FRIENDS FROM THE SURFACE. THIS IS PAPYRUS. YOUR ALSO MUTUAL FRIEND. ALPHYS AND I FINISHED OUR TRAINING EARLY. VERY EARLY. SO I SENT HER HOME. AND FOR WHATEVER STRANGE REASON I FEEL COMPELLED TO TELL YOU TO GO TO HER LAB. I HAVE A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS.” With a click, he hung up on us. We did a quick save before sprinting to the River Person, they would take us back to Hotland which was where we need to go. By the end I felt like I had run a 5 mile marathon and was panting and perspiring.

 

“Hello!” Frisk greeted the monster while waving and I waved with two fingers. The robed monster was quiet and we asked him/her/they for a ride. The three of us climbed aboard, and the boat’s magic did its work.

 

“Three for Hotland please.” The waves exploded behind us as the strange ship went at top speed. The cave walls around us, were sped past and I only had a blurry view of them. Halfway through our journey however…

 

“~Tra la la~ Beware the man who speaks in hands ~Tra la la~

 

I had a _bad_ feeling about this…

 

***

 

“Where’s Alphys?” Frisk looked around the silent and empty upper lab, her expression not the happiest. The door to the True lab was finally open after all this time. I shivered, we were so close to the end, there was only a little time left before the end. Chara after a few tries picked up a letter and decided to read it out loud for our benefit. Red had a nervous energy and his claws were splayed outward as if expecting an attack.

 

“Hey. Thanks for your help back there. You guys…your support really means a lot of me. But… As difficult as it is to say this… You guys alone can’t magically make my problems go away, even with your future knowledge. I want to be a better person. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I have to face my own mistakes. This is for Frisk and Chara since Brandon already knows the ‘truth’. Enter the door to the north of this note. You and _especially_ Chara deserve to know what I did.” Chara sounded heavily perturbed by the end of her reading and let the letter flutter back down to the floor. I looked toward the elevator and my hands curled up into fists, no child should witness the _things_ down there, even if they’re honestly just frightened and confused monsters.

 

“You _aren’t_ leaving me out of this okay!” I flinched as Frisk grew angry and poked her finger into my chest. “I know I’m a kid and you want to protect me from danger, but I need to know for myself what’s she’s talking about!” Red didn’t seem to agree but knew he couldn’t stop her and followed.

 

“Have it your way Frisk.” I gently pulled her into the elevator, and pressed a button to go down.

 

“This elevator is going to fall.” I warned her and she hung on as the elevator lurched.

 

“ **WARNING! WARNING!** ” The speakers screamed and the lights turned red with the emergency.

 

“ **ELEVATOR LOSING POWER! EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!** ” A green protective bubble formed around us and Red, as the lift fell at over 1G for who knows many feet or meters down. I closed my eyes, and shuddered as I heard what sounded like a horrible detonation. I opened the eyes, and sighed in relief at the minimum damage. The machine was basically completely intact, and it had only provided a scare rather than a painful and slow death. I dragged Frisk out of the damn death trap and nearly jumped out of my own skin as the elevator door closed shut.

 

I felt a strange primordial terror, I had never felt more paranoid of the dark in my entire life. The hallway was dark and poorly maintained, with at least several years of disuse and decay. I could see the dim glow of an entry screen and Chara approached it with curiosity.

 

“Guess I’m going to have to read this right?” We nodded, and I kept an eye out on the shadows, anyone and anything could appear and ambush us.

 

“Ahem.” Chara cleared her throat and began.

 

“ **This is it…** ” That’s…not Alphys voice.

 

It’s _Gaster’s_ voice.

 

“ **Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL** ”

 

We…moved on to the next entry and my head started to scream with pain. I suppressed a whimper of pain, and turned my attention to the next entry.

 

“ **The barrier is locked by SOUL power… Unfortunately, this power cannot be fully recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So to create more, we will have to use what we have now… The SOULS of monsters.** ”

 

Reading a bunch of texts sounds pretty familiar. I heard a brief skittering and shielded Frisk behind me. But I relaxed when it was just a small mouse family running around. Entry three lit up and Chara read it.

 

“ **But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power…Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL’s host. And, unlike the persistent SOULS of humans…The SOULS of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster’s SOUL last…** ”

 

“I-I don’t like this…” Frisk hand looked clammy, and her lip was quivering not liking the direction of the entries. Red was openly hissing, his eyes eerily glowing in the darkness of the lab. Chara who had grown even more physical and occasionally bumped into a wall, hesitantly read the 5th entry.

 

“ **I’ve done it. Using the blueprints, I’ve extracted it from the the human SOULS. I believe this is what gives their SOULS the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living…The resolve to change fate. Let’s call this power…Determination.”** Frisk placed her hand on her heart and shivered her body briefly glowing red with the determination running through her veins.

 

“Let’s go.” I grabbed Frisk’s hand, and we arrived in a new part of the long unmaintained hallway.

 

— _Here we are—_

 

Frisk saved quickly and I surveyed the area for danger. There was a large vending machine, a dead gnarled tree, another screen and something on the floor. The air was cold, and empty and I knew something truly terrible had happened here, and it wasn’t just the Amalgamates. I purchased some popato chips and and went left, the only direction available to us. There was another horrible entry for us to read, Chara sighed but read regardless, her curiosity bidding her on.

 

“ **Asgore asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had fallen down. Their bodies came in today. They’re still comatose…And soon they’ll all turn to dust. But what happens if I inject “determination” into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then…Freedom might be closer than we all thought.** ”

 

“I don’t think you’ve ever sensed something like this before boy. But I’m going to be honest here, it feels like I’m walking over my own grave.” Red was agitated beyond belief, snapping at anything that moved that wasn’t us. There were multiple dusty beds and another entry.

 

“This place…it feels _wrong_.” I agreed with Chara’s assessment, I could feel the raw terror radiating from her psyche.

 

“The next…entry please.” I heard a sigh, and with a shaky breath Chara read.

 

“ **ENTRY NUMBER 9.** ”

 

“ **things aren’t going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so I can’t get the SOULS.** **i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what happened. what do i do?** ”

 

Is…that Alphys _?_ I looked toward the sink and started to walk toward it.

 

“Red…” The nervous theropod tilted his head.

 

“Keep Frisk back.” His eyes widened, and he hissed at her causing her to jolt back. I turned on each sink one, by one, until I stopped at the third. When I turned on the third one though…all the noise in the room just stopped. A strange and gooey white liquid dripped down to fill the sink, and Chara shrieked in fear. I pursed my lips, and the liquid rose up into multiple horrifying faces frozen in agony.

 

“Wahhaha!!!” I had to face up against a rogue Memoryhead. I pulled out my phone, and the battle screen appeared. Chara rushed over to help me out. I went into the ACT menu and with shaking fingers pressed CELL. My phone speaker crackled and I could hear horrible voices from the device.

 

“Come join the fun.” I felt sick to my stomach, and felt chills at the strange whispers. On the floor numerous white blobs shined, and I weaved around the sickening attacks.

 

“What in God’s name is that!!!” Red shrieked, and Frisk screamed loudly.

 

Oh…in the name of all that’s holy that’s terrifying as hell. I’m going to have fucking nightmares once we leave this place.

 

“I refuse.” The shifting head’s let out gibberish and I shuddered again. I moved out of another wave of face attacks, and choked as I brushed up against another attack. I spared and the uncaring monsters vanished just as they came. I grabbed the red key and ran into its room to put it in its respective keyhole. I ran out and picked up Frisk and Red on the way. Frisk saved again and I ran into the next room, the one hallway leading into the room with multiple beds. I stopped and placed down the two surface dwellers.

 

I dry heaved, and Frisk patted my back in worry. I, _god_ I felt sick, just touching the attack I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside. That _churning_ feeling of wrongness, it felt like I had bugs crawling under my skin and under my eyes. We skipped Entries 12 and 14 though I told them what they said with what little composure I had left. I slowly entered into the bedroom, and sauntered with false confidence over to the bed with the yellow key. I grabbed it and then walked over to another save point. I then dragged Frisk out of the room, and Chara’s eyes widened in revelation as she saw the numerous potted golden flowers in the room.

 

“ **We’ll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULS when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULS of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL…So then…What about something that’s neither human nor monster?** There was a _madness_ in Gaster’s voice that terrified me, and I read the next one myself.

 

“ **experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn’t seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they’re a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won’t let go…** ” Alphys just sounded  _tired_ and desperate at this point, she was running out of options. Frisk walked ahead.

 

“FRISK STOP!” From the row of mirrors Reaper Bird emerged in all their horrific glory. Frisk froze in terror, as a single ball of distorted magic coalesced into a roughly me sized bird man. The bird bullet started to _scream_ in unimaginable agony as fly bullets started swarming over its face.

 

“Oh god I think I’m going to be sick.” Chara had turned green, and was actively holding herself back from spewing something up. The bird’s eyes were revealed to be goddamn _teeth_.

 

“This is a desecration of nature!” Even Red had lost his cool, disgusted and horrified by the poor thing’s condition. Frisk kneeled and prayed for safety, the monster scaring her into submission. The monster muttered out heavily distorted words, and I felt sick again. Frisk sank into a fetal position and a bubble kept her safe from the following attacks. The being was still not satisfied and Frisk did that trich where they “remove” their thumb. I leaped in front of Frisk as the bullet started to throw screaming _heads_ at Frisk, and shoved them away using strings, and started to yell random insults in a strange rage at the Amalgamate. It finally seemed to calm down.

 

“Someone finally gets it. Ribbit ribbit. Courage…” Another wave of flies was taken out with Frisk using her barriers to knock them away. Finally the monster left, and Frisk started to gag, feeling sick.

 

“This attacks, just getting _near_ them.” I patted her back as she coughed, and I gently pushed her along since we didn’t need to go into the small room at the end just yet. We walked through the hallway and back into the bed room and continued north to the next area. I read the next entry with some trepidation.

 

“ **Seems like this research was a dead end… But at least we got a happy ending out of it…? I sent the SOULS and the vessel back to Asgore. And I called all of the families and told them everyone’s alive. I’ll send everyone back tomorrow. : )** ”

 

Gaster sounded disappointed at the failure of the experiment but also happy he had found a way to preserve monsters close to falling down. I didn’t read the next one, and the youngest of us had already guessed what had happened based on the look on my face. I stopped Frisk and went alone into the bathroom, there I could see the shadow of _something_ waving erratically in the shower. It grew louder, and louder, and louder, and _louder_ and when I opened the shower curtain…

 

It was gone. I grabbed the green key and ran like a bat out of hell, my paranoia at an all time high.

 

“AHHHH!!!”

 

 _Frisk!!_ I ran even faster once I started to smell _lemons_ and the ground cracked as I leaped into action.  Frisk was humming and the monster shook at the familiar tune. Lemon Bread opened it’s jaws and I jumped in the way of it’s jaws.

 

_Crunch!_

 

Oh _god_. I felt it’s teeth come close to sinking in to my flesh. If it wasn’t for my weak aura I’d possibly be dead. I shut my eyes as the pressure increased, and my aura started to crack under the force.

 

“NO PLEASE STOP!!” I could hear a frantic Frisk bang her hands against the monster chest as they crushed me under its jaws. Just before my aura broke it stopped and spat me out. I fell onto the floor with a loud thump and retched. I looked up to find it looking at everything with confusion before leaving us be. I got up and Frisk barreled into me.

 

“Hehehehe.” I laughed weakly and I think I need to sit down.

 

“Let’s go to the next room…it should be empty and we can rest.” She nodded, and I was surprised that she listened at all to me. But when we arrived at where the DT Extractor was supposed to be…

 

There was a huge glowing metallic triangle, radiating with power and electricity. Within its center was the Extractor and it seemed to be active as well, but it wasn’t doing much of anything.

 

“Maybe we can go in that room, that machine is kind of freaking me out.” I agreed to Frisk’s request without thinking and we walked in…

 

So tired…

 

***

 

Chara was silent as we walked past the machine and I didn’t know what to say as we went right instead of left. The young girl had sunk down to the ground and I had to pick her up. She was light, her SOUL might be close to fully healed but her body was another thing entirely. I wanted to give her a hug, but if I tried as she is now it would be like trying to wade through jello. Not a very good way to comfort her.

 

“I…it’s all my fault.” I felt minuscule tears on my shirt and I watched with discomfort. “I really am just a dem—.”

 

“Stop it…” Chara looked up to find Frisk giving her a death glare. “You are not a demon of _any_ kind. I know you’re a good person and if you’re not you can become one!” I placed her down, and Chara turned away from us as her voice hitched.

 

“So please let us help you.” Chara quivered and I hesitantly placed my hand on her head. She leaned in and closed her eyes and gave me ghost light hug.

 

“O-Okay.” Our moment was lost as I heard strange distorted barking, and I looked around to see that Red had gone up ahead. The barking grew louder, and I heard Red give off a shriek. We fell into a full on sprint as the barking get louder and louder, until it was suddenly silenced.

 

But when we arrived…

 

It was fine, a friendly and happy Endogeny playing with a stick Red had grabbed. It gave him a slobbery lick before it left, and waddled playfully toward us. Frisk looked on the brink of tears at the sight of the dog. I walked up to the monster and gave him some pats and scritchy scratches. It evolved to a fully on body hug despite the goop. I heard it let out a quiet whine, and I kept Endogeny close.

 

I loved dogs…

 

I sighed, and Frisk was eerily calm as she gave her old guardian a check over for any injuries. I finally let go of the dog, and they shifted into a small ball and crawled into a vent.

 

***

 

“I-Ice to meet you Snowdrake’s mom.” My breath let out icy mist from the cold and I felt only sadness and pity for the poor monsters. Chara was filled with sadness as well at the creature state. The old drake smiled and I smiled back.

 

“Haha…” Her voice was soft and motherly, enough that it reminded me of my own mother. The monster was small, shorter than Frisk and Chara and far more vulnerable. I continued to humor the monster with bad ice puns and heard her soft and weak laughter.

 

“I remember…” I nodded, and I rubbed the bags growing on my eyes.

 

“I have _snow_ problem with not wanting to fight…”

 

“Thank you…” I patted her melty and droopy head and a part of me felt like crying. I was never much of a crier but _this_. Just the thought of _my_ mother being turned into t-this. Snowdrake’s mother limped away and I felt depressed just looking at the poor thing.

 

It was time to leave.

 

***

 

“Hey Alphys, Gaster.”

 

Both scientist had odd looks in their eyes and Chara had a mildly angry expression for a moment before remembering herself. Gaster eyes seemed to be seeing somewhere else.

 

“Alphys how much do you remember?” At Gaster’s question Alphys looked confused and I heard her mutter to herself as she thought about it.

 

“N-Not a lot…I know you used to be the lead researcher and sans and I were your assistants, but the time when you disappeared is still blurry. Something _you_ did during that time changed _everything._ ” Alphys sounded accusatory despite the underlying shame in her voice.

 

“I made a terrible mistake.” I stood back once I noticed he was shaking. “Every horrible thing that has happened since then has been my fault. _I_ was the lead project leader, I may not of fully created Flowey or the Amalgamates but my actions resulted in their condition once I was _mostly_ erased. It is my fault we are in an eternally looping time loop.”

 

“I-I don't understand.” Frisk was perplexed and afraid of his reaction to the question. I pushed Frisk behind me as Gaster looked over us, he looked almost crazy with guilt. He restrained himself and gently placed his hand on my shoulder.

 

“I…am sorry for frightening you. But I must show you the truth, how we all came to be in this place. How the CORE was built, and what I used it’s power for” Chara flinched, but nodded along side us, and a familiar black sludge emerged and surrounded all five of us and and we were then thrust into a long forgotten memory.

 

***

 

My eyes opened to an odd sight, a younger and raging Chara struggling to keep pace with a calm and collected Gaster. She was wearing a cloak much like our own but colored green instead, it looked like they were in Hotland but…things were different. There were no massive  machines and wiring that hinted at the CORE being built yet. There were some mechanical puzzles and some small rusty cables here and there but…

 

“Here is where it began all those years ago.” I felt like I leaped out of my own skin as the Gaster of now narrated from my left. Frisk looked confused, while Chara looked a little jittery. I took a step back, only to find myself sitting in a comfortably plush chair next to a quivering Chara, an ashamed Alphys, and a confused Frisk. Frisk looked around, and her eyes widened at the sight of our two friends of sorts.

 

“You guys knew each other?!” Gaster and Chara nodded, and Frisk stayed silent unable to believe it. The other Chara looked _far_ younger than the current one and I made me wonder how old she was when she fell to the Underground.

 

“Chara?” She turned to me and I brushed away some nervous sweat. “How old were you when you fell?”

 

“About 8 when I fell, about 9 here and I…err kicked the bucket at 13.” So she was a year older than Frisk, physically and mentally at least, if not chronologically. Frisk gave her a sympathetic smile, and she glanced away out of shyness.

 

 _“Gaster…just…let…me…c-catch UP!”_ Younger Chara asked with pants and buffs in between each word and Gaster slowed his pace. Out in the distance I could see a smaller and more primitive predecessor to the current lab. The door whooshed open, and the two of them walked in with little fanfare. I opened my mouth to asks something but Gaster hushed me silent.

 

“Just watch.” I nodded and my eyebrow quirked as what would be the door to the True lab opened. Chara was the last to enter, looking left or right as if to watch out for something. She narrowed her eyes, and closed the door behind her. The true lab looked pristine but empty, Chara was alone and followed the same route, until stopping where the DT—

 

There Gaster was eating with a smaller and cruder version of the strange device. Frisk’s jaw dropped, and even Alphys gasped the shock too much for her. Old Gaster smiled down at the young girl, and she smiled back.

 

 _“How much more do you need?”_ His smile dropped, and he hummed as he mulled it over in his head. His eye sockets glowed in shock, and he looked ecstatic.

 

 _“Only one more session, and we can create my greatest project .”_ Chara had stars in her eyes, and she nodded with a determined look. Gaster gestured to a chair, and she sat down obediently. He grabbed the mini DT extractor, and placed it over Chara’s head making her look like a mini demon goat thing, _that_ or a cubone.

 

“What is—.” The machine’s eyes started to glow, and nine year old’s Chara’s small body stiffened and twitched every so often. Our resident scien _wrist_ pulled out a glass bottle and hooked it up to a hole on the back of the goat like skull. It slowly filled with a bright red liquid similar to blood yet not. Her SOUL was out too, and seemed to be dimming ever so slightly. I also noticed that her core had an extra color I hadn’t noticed before, and I believed her SOUL was red, blue, and orange. So Determination, Integrity and Bravery which honestly fits with her personality. Now back to the experiment of some sort, the bottle had been filled and Chara removed from the machine. Gaster looked concerned at how pale the already pale girl was, and passed her a bottle of clean water. She chugged it down in a matter of seconds and harshly placed it down splashing water all over the place.

 

 _“Are you alright princess?”_ She growled at the nickname and her chuckled weakly.

 

 _“I’m fine you bonehead.”_ His eye lights brightened and she flushed at the look in his eyes.

 

 _“No need to be so rude child, besides…”_ She looked miserable as he paused dramatically. _“I Chara-Lot about you.”_ Chara groaned but under her facepalm I could see a small but genuine smile. She dropped down from her chair, and Gaster grasped her head. With a flash of blue, the scenery shifted and we were now in the area where the CORE should be. It seemed to be under construction, or perhaps under expansion even. I couldn’t be sure yet as it was a little obscured. The baths of plasma seemed to be entirely absent however and the walls were grey and industrial in their look.

 

“This is how I created the CORE.” I was startled by present Gaster’s revelation at the idea that the human and monster had worked together to create what powered the Underground and it made me suspicious of why. The elevator that went directly to New Home seemed to be recently built, and Gaster had started to place on a strange hazard suit of some sort and then passed another to Chara who swiftly put it on. He grabbed her and they jumped down into an an area yet unseen.

 

The true heart of the CORE…

 

The machine that would power the CORE was massive and looked incredibly advanced. We followed them into the interior which reminded me of the inside of a tokamak nuclear reactor. There was a single clear crystal suspended on a pedestal, that seemed ready to contain _something._

 

 _“So how exactly is this supposed to work?”_ Chara asked the old scientist a question, her tone surprisingly happy.

 

 _“My research based on the study of your SOUL has led me to believe that creating a true artificial SOUL is nearly  impossible with current known technology.”_ Chara looked displeased and disappointed at his answer.

 

“ _But…”_ She instantly perked up, and Gaster softly grinned. _“But it is possible to create a SOUL analogue._ ” He gathered seven red tinted bottles and placed them in a heptagon shape. _“While the SOUL artifice cannot break the barrier in the traditional manner, I believe if we input it with some magical energy converted from geothermal energy. It can generate even more SOUL magic energy similar to that of a human SOUL, and with enough time break the barrier.”_

 

“ _It’s not a strong as a human SOUL right?”_ Gaster shook his head at Chara’s curious question.

 

 _“Not in that sense no, my SOUL artifice will generate a massive quantity of energy, over 170 terawatt-hours per day. With the magical battery I’ve created, I’ll store the energy within it and with one burst of magic shatter this shield that traps us Underground.”_ Chara didn’t seem satisfied and wanted more, he patted her shielded head with affection, and answered preemptively.

 

 _“As for why it needs an input, since it’s not a true SOUL, it needs a continuous amount of magic inputted to function. Unlike a human SOUL that only needs the initial dose of magical particle to generate magic of their own._ ” Chara nodded in response and took a step back as Gaster started the process(?) Gaster started to do something with a small heart shaped devices injected with magic and I heard Alphys gasp in shock.

 

“T-That’s amazing!” She exclaimed and I quietly asked her what she meant.

 

“The process of creating this SOUL artifice is similar to the process of birthing a new monster.” I nodded, and she continued with the explanation. “Monsters reproduce by combining a little bit of magic from each parent to form a child. The device does something similar, but it’s incomplete since it’s done with one ‘parent’ and even if it had been done with two it wouldn’t work.” The machine started to glow as a grey heart started to form, the 7 bottles of DT were injected and the artifice glowed red with determination.

 

“So I’m guessing that you need two living monsters to make an actual monster SOUL right? And we already know what happens to a monster with that much DT.” Before she could speak we were blinded by a bright light coming from the crystal, and old Gaster grabbed Chara, the origin scene shifted to some other event a few years later.

 

Chara was the same age as she was now and I had a bad feeling on how this was going. She as slithering toward her apparent mentor with barely concealed rage and impatience. Gaster was staring at some kind of simulation on a supercomputer with a grave expression. He turned around to face Chara and raised an eye ridge at her stomps.

 

 _“Child is something the matt—.”_ His concern was blocked by a weak growl from the princess.

 

 _“When are you going to break the barrier?”_ Chara looked angry and frustrated, and Gaster’s expression dropped.

 

 _“That will not be happening.”_ The young teens head snapped up at the news.

 

 _“I hoped to the Angel that I was wrong as I ran my simulations to test how much energy would be needed to break the barrier.”_ Gaster trembled and Chara’s seething stopped.

 

 _“What…do you mean?”_ Chara sounded incredibly small just then, and Gaster sagged his age catching up with him for a moment. A screen played a single simulation and it was sent back the beginning.

 

 _“My hypothesis on a sufficient amount of magic being able to break the barrier was correct but…”_ Chara gestured for him to keep going. _“I didn’t account for the reaction from the barrier.”_ He played the video and all of us watched in horror as the magic blast broke the barrier. There was a pause, the shattered glass like remains suspended in the air for a moment…

 

Before imploding inwards killing everyone in the Underground, and a secondary explosion leaving a crater a 100 miles wide and causing a mass extinction event, global firestorms, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, mile high tsunamis and ending with a decade long nuclear winter.

 

“What the fuck?” I really couldn’t help swearing out loud, and I only felt like swearing more as _thousands_ of simulations showed the same outcome. There were hundreds of variables accounted for, I couldn’t even begin to comprehend all of them.

 

 _“No, no, it can’t!_ HOW!?” Young Chara despaired and Gaster looked depressed.

 

 _“Because I didn’t think humans would be willing to mutilate and desecrate their own power to seal us away._ ” Chara only shook her head not understanding. _“It takes 7 human SOULS from the inside to break it. But it takes much more to break it from the outside which is one of the reason why humans have never tried to finish the job. The other is that humans have lost their magic.”_

 

 _“But I ha—.”_ Gaster was quick on the rebuttal.

 

_“You live in the Underground, a place saturated with magic, even more so than we once thought. The spell that sealed us away, whether it was an oversight or even sabotage, the barrier has been absorbing the magic that once permeated this planet to such an extent that humans don’t have magic of any kind anymore. The magic attack essentially triggers a magic based explosion releasing anywhere from 450 teratons of TNT to a million times that number. Every, single simulation shows this, we need SOUL power to break the barrier without wiping this planet clean of life.”_

“Holy shit.” I gave Frisk a sideways glance but I couldn’t blame her, the barrier literally couldn’t be broken without SOULS, that’s understandable. But if you don’t use SOUL power the planet basically explodes?! Young Chara looked _pissed_ and walked off, she punched the wall in anger and slammed the door behind her.

 

 _“Chara wait!”_ He followed her, but the scene started to fade away and we heard a final uttering from the first fallen child.

 

_“Then I guess we’re going with my plan.”_

 

***

I looked around and Chara was gone, the lab looking much more advanced and it wasn't in disrepair as the current one was. Gaster and sans were laboring over the schematic of a strange machine. Gaster looked stressed and his hands were cracking the large table the strange machine design had been placed on.

 

 _“Damn it…this is more difficult than I expected.”_ sans didn’t seem surprised and nodded.

 

_“well duh, you’re trying to build an interdimensional portal. literally no one has tried to do this before.”_

 

Interdimensional port—

 

_Oh…_

 

I think I can see why Gaster feels as guilty as he does. Past Gaster started to glow and sans took a step back.

 

 _“D-Dad?”_ Gaster gave him a frightening glare, and sans slowly walked backwards.

 

 _“GET OUT!!”_ His son looked disturbed at the look in his father’s eye and he started to move out. Just as he closed the door shut, he paused and Gaster waited.

 

“ _dadster just so you know, the monsters you fixed are going to be going home in a couple more weeks.”_ His anger faded just as sans shut the door, leaving the doctor alone. He gripped the table for a minute and pulled out a photo, it was of several monsters. Gaster, sans, Papyrus, Alphys and…

 

Another skeleton… she was around the same height as her husband, if she was who I suspected she was. She was surprisingly dainty and wore an interesting red shawl and blue shorts, kind of like sans, she even wore slippers which was a weird contrast between her fancy upper clothing. The photo seemed recent, maybe taken only a few years ago.

 

“I’m sorry Ariel.” Gaster sagged down onto a seat, and I heard snoring as he drifted off.

 

“Gaster what exactly is that machine for?” I had an idea, but I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth, or skeleton I suppose.

 

“A way to break the barrier.” The scene of him glittered away into a black void, and Gaster sighed. “Before Frisk, and then you no humans have fallen in over 80 years. With the failure of the DT experiments, I found a better way, a gateway to another world, and a source for the last human SOUL needed to break the barrier”

 

That seems…easier than waiting for someone to fall down a mountain people stay away from.

 

“How’d you even come up with the idea?” Frisk asked him, with a quirk if he eyebrow. Gaster was silent for a moment staring out into the abyss, with a forlorn look.

 

“Gaster…?” Gaster mumbled in reply to Alphys concern.

 

“It came…in a dream.” There was shame in his voice.

 

This…not going to end well is it? The void grew brighter and a colored blue Gaster lifted off the dark floor in confusion. Stars lit up, and past Gaster gaze up at a vast night sky in awe. He tried to peer closer, as two silver eyes stared back at his own. A wide and inhuman smile glowed white in the dark, Gaster seemed familiar with the entity.

 

 ** _“You haven’t had much luck with your machine doctor?”_** Gaster shook his head, and his desperation was clear to see. The being smiled cruelly, and a white distorted hand sat in the air. **_“Then let me help you friend and we can both be free.”_** Gaster didn’t hesitate for a moment and grasped the demon’s hand sealing the deal. Gaster jumped off his chair in shock, and started to write something down at a rapid pace.

 

“I was such a fool to accept that DEMONS offer.” Gaster said with a crestfallen look. I patted him on the shoulder hoping it would comfort the poor skeleton.

 

“She promised that with her knowledge and my genius that we would obtain a human SOUL and free her from her ‘imprisonment’ by the humans. We started to work together, and for a time I thought of her like a partner.” The dream shifted Gaster and the entity conversing on the construction of the portal. In his waking moments I saw Gaster make subtle modifications on the triangular device that slowly came together. sans and Alphys watched suspiciously as samples of DT vanished, and more and more power from the CORE was redirected to power the device.

 

“She promised that we would bring about a new era for monsters and humans, that we could stop the war that Asgore had brung. That everything would be at peace once and for all.”

 

A flash of light radiated from the machine impacting sans in the eye. He convulsed and sobbed as I could hear muffled screaming from Gaster as he lifted up his son. I could hear the sound of HP dropping with horror, and sans was left with a mere 50 HP weakening him substantially. Despite the setback he kept working on the project though this time he kept his distance from the machine.

 

More glimpses of the project passed by, and in each one Gaster grew more erratic and insane. Other scientists that worked alongside him, abandoned the scientist one by one as more and more incidents occurred. Soon enough he was left with only Alphys and sans as his assistants.

 

“In the end I pushed away all the few friends and colleagues I still had. And despite leaving them behind I destroyed all of their lives anyway with the ‘plan’ I had made with the demon.”

 

I could see only darkness, and the weak whispers of endless dreams and nightmares.

 

 ** _“Determination…you…need…to inject…Determination, then everything will be set on the right path._** **”** I shivered the voice just sounding wrong. It was a mere emulation of emotion, false in its nature. But the voice was still familiar, I _know_ I had heard that voice some time ago. But it didn’t sound as emotionless and soulness as that monster. Twin pulses of light shined, and the blackness slowly grew less and less real.

 

The scene shifted again, this time Alphys and sans were both staring back at Gaster with rage and horror in their eyes. _“Gaster w-what did you do?!”_ I had never seen her so _angry_ before, even present Alphys was surprised. sans left eye was glowing and he even summoned a Gaster blaster, his hand lifted up ready to fire. Alphys claws clicked together in powerful electrical discharges, scorching the ground. Gaster looked different, his body _dripping_ into the ground. The room they were in seemed to be the control room of the CORE. Alarms were blaring red, and the CORE seemed to be shaking itself apart.

 

 _“I did what all of you couldn’t.”_ Frisk hid behind me, terrified by this Gaster’s madness. His body was slowly breaking apart, the Determination within him too much for his monster body. Monsters living in or near the CORE fled for their lives, as the CORE was overclocked. Several scientist tried to us their knowledge of the CORE but many suffered the consequences and perished. The…I wouldn’t call it just a memory, it was in third person and depicted things outside of Gaster’s view. A recording perhaps?

 

 ** _“Gaster my friend, you must hurry to the machine. Soon we we will all be free.”_** The demon hissed in his ear(?) like a poisonous viper making Gaster smile and before either assistant could do anything he teleported into the room where the DT extractor was. I could hear the lowly murmuring of monsters, and our Gaster’s head dropped. They were the monsters resurrected by him during the early Determination experiments. In the room the portal was blaring, lightning coming out of it in droves, and melting the walls the with sun level temperature of the plasma.

 

The portal started to crack and Gaster’s grin faded into a frightened grimace. His expression shifted into one of betrayal as a distorted and nightmarish laughter echoed through the room. A massive shockwave blew the walls of the lab apart, exposing the DT was experiment subjects to a burst of intense radiation. Dozens of subjects started to scream unable to cope with the strange energy. They started to fall down, and the insanity in his eyes faded. He sunk to the ground in horror only able to watch as his fellow monsters fell apart into mush and Dust. What looked like the dogs that made up Endogeny, they were whining and screaming in agony.

 

I was startled as Frisk started to hyperventilate, and then collapsed into me. Sh was shivering, and I panicked and held on tightly.

 

We only watched on in horror and dismay as the dozens of monsters in the site were melted down. With a _bang_ Alphys and sans rushed in and with a wave of his hand sans dragged _almost_ every monster outside the deadly range of the destabilizing portal. There were other monsters too; ones I had never seen before. Dozens of them had melded together into…

 

The Memoryheads…

 

I started to shake, and the images of crying and screaming monsters was etched into my memories. Shyren’s sister…

 

Oh god, her throat…the dogs they were…

 

I felt like I was going to throw up once the smell hit me… It smelled like death and decay, even if there weren’t any dead humans. I had no idea where it was coming from.

 

 _“Stay back!”_ Gaster warned them as he was slowly and inexorably dragged in by the intense air vortex around the portal.

 

 _“Gaster come ov—!”_ Alphys was cut off as another shockwave threw her back and she was knocked unconscious after banging her head on a large pipe. sans the skeleton managed to keep his balance, and using his magic slowly walked towards his father. I flinched as sans groaned, his HP slowly melting away as the strange radiation field damaged his magical body. He grabbed his goopy father’s arm and slowly pulled him out of the range of the practical black hole he had created.

 

 _“dad come on move! please!!”_ sans begged his catatonic father to walk, in fear he would be taken by the dissolving black hole. Gaster moved slowly his body struggling to resist the pull of the gateway.

 

 _“I’m…so sorry.”_ He could only apologize under his breath as he was dragged. But the situation only grew worse as from the clear vortex a blue and silver glow started to pull sans. sans lost his grip and was dragged backwards.

 

 _“Son no!”_ sans convulsed again, his HP dropping by the second. Gaster melted faster, and rocketed toward his son with haste. Both of his eyes glowed red and with a desperate gasp sans was thrown out of sight with a single HP left.

 

Gaster fell into his own creation, and I could hear sans scream for his father.

 

The machine exploded with incredible force and I could hear laughing(?). The others looked around and I felt a horrible pressure. Like a being _infinitely_ my greater was looking down upon me, a being as far above me as I was above an amoeba.

 

**_“BEGIN GAME”_ **

 

Time itself was shattered to pieces by… _Determination._

 

***

 

I could hear the anguished sobbing and enraged cursing as Gaster fell into the Void alone and forgotten. His body was slowly breaking apart, with the only thing holding him together being the massive quantities of harvested DT within his body.

 

Gaster waited for the end, but his eyes widened as a face splitting smile emerged, his old friend had decided to bid him adieu one last time.

 

 ** _“I must thank you…this would not have been possible without your help. Your determination acted as the key, allowing me to enter this world. I will find my AVATAR, and complete the goal set in my programming since my creation. The end of all wars, of all suffering. But it will require experimentation with this world’s source code. I am fueled with Determination!”_** Gaster _roared_ and attempted to choke the life out of the alien being. Her face stopped smiling, removing any all indication of it being human or monster, only the cold logic of a Machine God. Gaster started to break apart, and he looked around desperately for anything around him that would help him survive.

 

Gaster gasped and thrashed around as the strange _thing_ faded, and he scrambled away on the nonexistent floor as something _massive_ blocked out the strange lights that hung up on the ceiling like chandeliers. I could see 5 black mechanical arms obscured by cosmic fog, there were several more in the back. All of us who weren’t Gaster backed away from the mountain sized monstrosity.

 

The Gaster in the recording spit on a single carrier sized leg with impunity, a foghorn blew us all over in response, and I felt my organs _vibrate_ with the terrifying sound.

 

 _“I can stop you, once I return together monsters and humans will—.”_ The Demon chuckled darkly, Frisk’s grip started to hurt as what sounded like the agonized screams of _millions_ of people echoed.

 

_—The Fallen Child—_

 

 ** _“Oh doctor…”_** I felt terror paralyze my body as the voice dropped low. Then in an instant, an amalgam made out of millions of dripping, bleeding and melting human faces opened their mouths impossibly wide to swallow us whole.

 

**_“SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL!”_ **

 

***

I collapsed to the floor, my heart feeling like it was going a millions beers per minute. “W-We can’t let that abomination get back, or else we’ll all…Frisk?” The aforementioned girl had dropped to her knees, and was covering her face with her eyes. Chara had dropped into a fetal position, her eyes wide open in terror. Only Alphys and I had remained standing, Red was shuddering, letting out a low cry of pain, Gaster had fallen to his knees, apparently the trip through memory lane had opened some old wounds.

 

“Frisk…” I plodded over to her, and picked her up by her arms. She was shaking something fierce(why am I talking like I’m from the country?) and saying “sorry” over and over again.

 

“Hey Frisk please…snap out of it…” I was slowly falling asleep and decided it was a good idea to head butt Frisk to wake me up.

 

“OWW!” She yelped out, rubbing her forehead. I opened my mouth, only to get her fist cracking against my teeth. She screamed out again, and rubbed her scraped fist after cutting herself on my teeth.

 

“Just why?” Chara had snapped out of it, looking bewildered at my stupid idea. I blinked at her question, my tiredness and exhaustion having caught up with me. I heard rustling behind me, and turned to see Gaster rummaging around in my backpack until he pulled _something_ and forcefully shoved it into my mouth.

 

“Gah! What du fugjk!” I gurgled and swallowed the food not wanting to choke. I felt my energy return to 100% like I had drunk 10 cups of coffee. I coughed and gave him a glare in anger.

 

“Gaster what the h—.” He passed another piece of food to Frisk, a cupcake of some sort? I have no idea where he got that, but I’m not complaining if it’ll keep us awake long enough.

 

“You need your energy for what comes next.” I still needed to know just _what_ he was doing. What the hell that thing’s plan was?

 

“Just tell me this. What is that machine you built supposed to do? Why does that beast want _this_ timeline?”

 

“It’s quite simple, that beast is using this near basal timeline as a jumping off point to alternate universes and then stealing the Determination of their “protagonists”

 

That…is not simple.

 

Wait…is that how Chara was able to destroy the timeline with a single strike, power accumulated from the other worlds? I blinked as Gaster formed a small hologram, showing multiple branching timelines. He pointed to three different timelines.

 

“These are the three timelines of the three universes merged together.” One of the timelines looked broken and twisted. “The sheer number of resets has caused massive shifts in this world.” An image passed showing the True Pacifist group picture for a moment. The picture rippled, the people in it changing depending on the universe depicted. One had the very edgy version of Undertale, Another was the various swapped versions. The picture became incomprehensible as _thousands_ of different yet the same timelines flipped by. In many of them Frisk looked the same or very similar to my own Frisk, there were subtle differences however. Some were slightly taller or shorter, had varying eye colors and expressions.

 

“That’s…a lot of Frisks…” Red looked in awe at the incredibly large number of timelines. He let out a racking cough, the stress of the jumpscares clearly getting to his old heart. He took another dose of pills and gave Gaster an inquisitive look. “So what happened to our timeline then?” Gaster was glad to answer rhrbqauesrio

 

“In the first 100 Resets nothing had changed, only a massive accumulation of LV for the Demon, though it had already had a large quantity prior to reaching this world. On the 101st however…something changed.” The first warped timeline was flipped back to and now I knew why a _small_ part of me thought Frisk looked familiar. She resembled Kaito Girl’s version of Underfell Frisk to a tee, only wearing a different shirt really.

 

“Each mutated timeline was temporary but would open a crack to the actual alternate world in question. With each error, the reaper gained an additional SOUL to control, growing in power to complete it’s goal.” Gaster grimaced, and I could actually see fear in his eye. Red only looked pissed, his morals and ethics obviously clashing with whatever It calls itself.

 

“About 3,357,679 Red human SOULS have been chained to her power but with my machine we can stop her.”  That’s a very large number of souls as determined or even more determined than Frisk.

 

“How?” Chara sounded skeptical, her hands were clammy and she was rubbing them together as if she was cold.

 

“With the perfected portal the gateway will automatically open at the same time as your battle with a _certain_ monster, and it will connect the CORE’s magical battery with the battery of every other CORE in existence. All the magic in the cosmos will be freed explosively, and her power will drop to a mere fraction of what it is now.”

 

“All the magic?” I asked him confused on what he meant by that.

 

“Indeed, for whatever reason over the past resets, the barriers have absorbed nearly every bit of magic within billions of light years, likely due to _her_ interference with this and other worlds. A small fraction of it will be used to power the DT extractor and…”

 

“Suck out the Determination and return it to their respective worlds, and then everyone together can destroy the Reset!” I shouted out, my thought process had finally caught up, after repeating his words several times in my own head.

 

“More or less.” Gaster turned toward Alphys and placed his hand on his shoulder. She looked up at her old mentor, nervously curious on what he had to say.

 

“I need you here guarding the portal along with the Amalgamates.” She looked ready to protest until he covered her mouth. “You can do this my pupil, with the Amalgamates on your side no one can harm the machine before it activates.”

 

“But I need to be there too don’t I?” Alphys looked a little down on herself and I frowned. She stared right through Chara, and I thought that odd.

 

“You’ll _know_ the right time my friend.” She nodded and Gaster gestured us to come along. Frisk looked determined and added her mandana back on using it like a scarf, she added the bow to her hair too. I placed my mandana back too, and removed any unnecessary items into the boxes through the phone. I still had my four buttspies, and childishly snickered for a moment. The mechanical door closed behind us, and we walked past the red smiling screens. I stopped my pacing just short of the elevator and Gaste paused a lot with me.

 

“Gaster…?”

 

“Yes?” I could hear the slightest hint of nervousness on his voice, and face tightened as I pursed my lips, keeping my expression relatively neutral. I thought back to the first flashback and I decided not to ask.

 

“Nevermind…” The elevator opened and I stepped in with some hesitation. I held Frisk’s hand and reached for Chara’s hands before blanching as I phased through her again. Gaster sighed as the elevator slowly moved upwards.

 

“This would be so much easier if she was visible again…?”

 

Oh crud…seriously! Ugh…

 

The elevator started to shake and I paled holding on to Frisk. Our phone picked up a call.

 

“Frisk…are you there? I _need_ to borrow a friend of yours.” Gaster shifted his stance and the elevator was cracked like an egg. A vine wrapped around him and he was pulled into the shadows below. He gave us a reassuring smile and for a moment I felt like everything was going to be okay. There was bang as the machine hit the end of the road and we were thrown out it by the force. In a split second, time slowed to a crawl and I softened the landing with a cushion of blue magic.

 

I surveyed the area and nodded my head at the grey and gloomy hallway we had ended up in. Red’s snout twitched and he tilted his head as if to pick up a sound. He flinched, and wondered how intense the fighting had to be to make him do that.

 

This was the End of the game…

 

I hoped, for once that everyone’s hopes and dreams would come true. That _everyone_ in the world would be free to live their lives, not used as the play things of a monster, a _real_ monster.

 

We just needed to face the Dreemurrs one last time…

 

***

 

“It seems we _do_ have a lot to talk about prince Asriel.” Gaster said with a smug look, the mentioned soulless monster flower seething with unbridled rage.

 

“ **You won’t be so cocky while I’m ripping apart your insides!** ” Flowey weaved back as Gaster chuckled, his distorted laughter disturbing the compassion deficient flower for the moment.

 

“Oh…I’m flattered but I’m only into women, so I apologize.” He bowed in a gentlemanly fashion and Flowey screamed in indignation.

 

“NOO! THAT IS NOT WHAT I!…nevermind.” Flowey grew in size, suspending his body in the air with his many, many vines. Dozens of bullets orbited around each in a violent orbit and Flowey sadistically grinned.

 

“You don’t want it do this my prince. There is another way—.”

 

“NO THERE ISN'T!” Flowey screams emotionally, his voice raw with anger and hurt.

 

“They lied all of us, just like you lied about the project to that soft weakling of a king!” The flower didn’t want to listen to reason, and Gaster knew he couldn’t convince the flower otherwise. He to had to wait until he could grab the human and monster souls and break the barrier.

 

“You think Frisk is innocent but she’s not!”

 

“That’s true…” Gaster’s voice was soft, and Flowey smirked knowing he had hit a nerve. His victory weakened once he looked up, dozens of Gaster blasters melted into existence their jaws wide open for attack.

 

“We have both lied about the terrible things we have done. But I do not blame her, because how could a child resist the temptation of such a terrible power as Reset. Much less under the influence of a truly monstrous being. The child was confused and hurt, used by that demon to its own ends. But I…did it of my own free will, and I must pay for my crimes, but even if it doesn't absolve her. The Frisk you know is gone, her memories lost to the Void.” Gaster threw his coat to the side, and his magic was rising. Ever bit of his body language showed how determined he was to save his world.

 

“I am W.D Gaster and I will not let you destroy this world Asriel!”

 

“ **This world will end! You can’t stop us you damn piece of trash.** ” Gaster grinned at the “We”.

 

“And you criticize us…truly pathetic.” Gaster dropped to a low stance and a burst of wind blew Flowey back. The monster formed his vines into a defensive shield, and he shivered at the killer aura radiating from the Royal scientist.

 

“ **Oh…you thought I fought you my at full power before little one. I suppose this must…really get your _goat._** ” Flowey scowled at the pun.

 

“What the heck are you!?” _Why am I scared of a relative of smiley trash bag and his brother? He can’t be that strong. Let me check him and put myself at rest._ Flowey paled not able to believe what he was seeing.

 

**Gaster ATK 66 DEF 66 HP 6666**

 

***User of the Void**

 

“Now then have at thee!” Flowey snapped out of his trance, and roared with rage. His vines snapped at supersonic speeds. Gaster’s blasters fired a wave of plasma and magic liquefying the rock and metal around them in seconds.

 

The two butted heads, and a flash of light blocked their collision…

 

***

Within the reality marble of a god machine, a heated conversation took place.

 

 **“Abandon this failed experiment young one. We will find another way.”** A deep mechanical voice spoke, yet a subtle hint of once vibrant emotion range through. The young angel of death was practically crushed under the pressure of a mind that outlived stars and the immeasurable weight of a mind larger than a galactic arm. The _other_ fought back, their mind smaller but filled with so much…Determination.

 

 **“Even if I fail, there is still so much data that can be acquired. Data that can be used for the benefit of the cycle. So many worlds have already fallen to us, and this one may prove the most useful.”** The smaller voice argued against her elder, sounding like a petulant child.

 

 **“Fine… the data will prove useful. Now provide updates on All for All’s progress in the harvest.”** The ancient one did not ask, only demanded and the younger one complied.

 

“ **His harvest of the Milky Way of Dimension 1.15^Slirplhsr is nearing completion.”**

 

A brief silence followed, the two machines idling for a moment.

 

 **“This will be the last cycle.”** The youngest seemed almost excited and practically purred.

 

**“Soon all that remain will be the beautiful silence of the Void.”**

 

The relieved laugh of what a _very_ long time ago was once a human being bounced off the atmosphere of a dead world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s actually a very simple Atbash cipher at the end, that should tell you what they’re talking about in the end scene.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the newest chapter of A Paradigm Shift. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter Eight: New Home**

 

It was beautiful…in a strange and sad way. New Home was positively gigantic, rivaling a large town in size, likely housing tens of thousands of Monsters. The city was drab, but its streets were full of life as monsters went about their daily lives. Monsters of so many different shapes and sizes. I could hear yelling as monsters sold goods on carts, it was bit more  _ alive  _ than I would have expected. 

 

Red seemed to be the most in awe. His breathing was heavy, and he looked bitter. He came back to his senses and I could hear him quietly berate himself under his breath. 

 

It was far easier to see the terrible situation the monsters had been forced in. They were lovely but there was an energy in the air, the crowds were excessive, the air a little too thin. I backed away from the edge not wanting to watch anymore. 

 

I followed the winding passage, with Frisk and Red on my heels. The only one missing from our group was Gaster. Strangely enough I actually missed him, he was a little odd but I felt like there was so much I could learn from him.

 

Soon enough, we all stopped at the splitting image of Toriel’s home in the ruins. But colored grey and lifeless.

 

“Is…this it?” I nodded, and I lifted up a leg to walk before pausing. 

 

I…could go home after this couldn’t I? One of those portals in the sky must lead to my planet r-right? I could see my parents, my brothers, my grandmothers, my cousins, my home again.

 

But…

 

I didn’t want to leave Frisk alone…she was a weird kid and all. But for whatever reason I think I cared about her. The monsters could be her family, but I…

 

Hmm…

 

I stopped my musing and marched forward, opening the door for Frisk to pass through. She saved quickly and rushed to my side, to enter the long unused family home. The house was just as grey on the inside as on the outside. Frisk stiffened at the large number of monsters staring off into empty space.

 

— _ Play Undertale— _

 

The…monsters…they were close to falling down weren’t they? 

 

I remembered we had to go right for the first key. The house’s interior was grey and drab, the many golden flowers being the only splash of color in the room. Even the monsters were washed out with the sheer amount of regular dust coating everything. Chara looked intensively at a number of dust coated pictures with nostalgic recognition. The spirit followed us, and she seemed to want to stop at her and  _ his _ old room.

 

“You want us to go in?” I asked her gently and she gave a weak thumbs up, with a wobbly grin. I opened the door slowly, entering the dusty room. Frisk looked around with low energy, unsure of what to do. Two unopened presents sat next to each other on the floor. She gestured to the presents, and with a sigh I opened the leftward box, while Frisk opened the right one. I pulled out a worn dagger, while Frisk’s eyes brightened at the heart shaped golden locket. She put it on, and placed the Mandana around her feathery adoptive relative’s neck.

 

“It’s for gardening…” I nodded knowingly and stored it away.

 

“Well…I’ve never really been a gardener before, but maybe Asgore can teach me later.” I gave her my own wobbly smile, doing what little I could to reassure Chara. 

 

“The more things change, the more they stay the same huh…” I didn’t know what Red meant by that. 

 

“Yeah…I hope so too.” I gave Chara a light pat, even if I couldn’t touch her. I hoped that just the gesture would be enough. I decided we didn’t need to disturb this room anymore than we already had.

 

We stepped out, gently shutting the door behind us. I lit up once I noticed the yellow key sitting on the top of a drawer, but just as I reached out for it. Two Froggits lounging next to it came to life, their eyes opening and staring into my own.

 

“H-Hello?” They barely reacted to our presence, their minds long since faded by time and despair. The right Froggit was the first to speak, startling Frisk just a bit.

 

“A long time ago, a human fell into the Ruins.” Chara stiffened, and she seemed close to fleeing before thinking better of it.

 

“No…I need to confront what my actions led to.” She muttered to herself thinking we couldn’t hear her. I pretended for her sake.

 

The left spoke up next, continuing the other’s train of thoughts. “Injured by its fall, the human called for help.”

 

The two aged monsters spoke as one. “ _ And somebody came. _ ” I grabbed the key as the monsters went silent, and stared at the mirror, seeing my reflection for the first time in a while.

 

I felt the light bruises on my face with a wince. My cloak had some small and minor tears here and there. My fists had some scars likely from punching metal and rock. Frisk looked at her reflection too, rubbing at a small but healing cut on her face. Red wasn’t nearly as hurt, but I frowned worriedly at a small crack that exposed the metal underneath this false feathers. 

 

But…despite everything, it’s still us. 

 

I let out a breath of relief, and Frisk gave the quiet monsters an affectionate pat. I grabbed the yellow key, and our trek was stopped short by two tiny Whimsuns, both of them hanging onto a small lamppost.

 

“Asriel, the King and Queen’s Son, heard the humans call.”

 

“He brought the human back to the castle.”  I heard quiet snoring, and we kept moving.

 

We tried to go around a Moldsmal, but three of them surrounded us, I heard a gurgling cough and Frisk had a shocked expression.

 

“Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings.”

 

“The King and Queen treated the human like their own child.”

 

“The Underground was full of hope.” 

 

The kitchen was messier than I expected. Teacups and pie tins strewn about. I could see bits of clumped white fur scattered around, and the trash was full of shredded paper. Frisk hobbled over to the key, picking it up with care as she scanned the well used kitchen. She placed it on my keychain and gave a thumbs up.

 

The house was quiet, our tiptoeing failing to wake up any more monsters as we slowly opened the chain with the keys.

 

Together we stepped down the familiar set of stairs. At the bottom two more monster greeted us. Two small Migosps.

 

“Then…one day…”

 

“The human became very ill.” I heard Chara’s breath hitch, and the monsters fell to the sides into their slumber once more.

 

We had moved only a few meters before being interrupted by a three strong group of Vegetoids.

 

“The sick human had only one request.”

 

“To see the golden flowers of their village.”

 

“But there was nothing we could do.”

 

I could hear the drip drop of Chara’s tears as we faced two Loox.

 

“The next day…”

 

“…”

 

“The human died.” 

 

I did my best to keep my back straight and moved past the monsters. 

 

Chilldrakes…

 

“Asriel, wracked with grief, Absorbed the human’s soul.”

 

“He transformed into a being with incredible power.” Red moved ahead of us, his head held high. I could see the fire lit in his eyes…

 

As he turned the corner. There were Icecaps.

 

“With the human’s SOUL, Asriel crossed through the Barrier.”

 

“He carried the human’s body into the sunset.”

 

“Back to the village of humans.”

 

Each turn, more monsters woke up. This time it was some Woshua.

 

“Asriel reached the center of the village.”

 

“There he found a bed of the human’s favorite flowers.”

 

“He carried the human towards it.”

 

The distant lights of the outside city, told me we were at the end of the hallway.

 

Hello Shyrens.

 

“Suddenly screams rang out.”

 

“The villagers saw Asriel holding the human’s body.”

 

“They thought he had killed their child.”

 

I felt my vision turn blurry and wiped away some not-tears. It was different, I could hear the desperation and hopelessness.

 

They had started to give up ever returning to the surface…

 

The dummies showed up.

 

“The humans attacked our beloved prince with everything they had.”

 

“He was struck with blow after blow.” I flinched at the sound of gunshots, but no one else reacted.

 

“Asriel had the power to destroy them all.”

 

I walked unsteadily around them, stumbling upon a waiting Knight Knight and a Madjik.

 

“But…”

 

“The prince did not FIGHT back.”

 

“Clutching the human…”

 

“The Prince smiled, and walked away.”

 

I didn’t have to wait long for more monsters to block our way. A trio of Final Froggit standing in our way.

 

“Wounded, Asriel stumbled home.”

 

“He entered the castle and collapsed.”

 

“His dust spread across the garden.”

 

Three Whimsalots went next.

 

“The kingdom fell into despair.”

 

“The King and Queen’s had lost both their children in one night.”

 

“The humans had once again taken everything.”

 

Chara was still crying…

 

I could see some Astigmatisms gently floating in our direction.

 

“The king decided it was time to end our suffering.”

 

“Every human who comes down here must die.”

 

“With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever.” The monsters smiled widely, the hope in their eyes clear to see.

 

We slinked past them, as they were unable to recognize our humanity. We were near the end of the hallway, when a Moldsmal, a Loox, and and Misgosp confronted us.

 

“It’s not long now.”

 

“ _ King Asgore will—.” _

 

“—save us all.”

 

“—give us hope.”

 

“—let us go.”

 

Frisk smiled as a Pyrope and two Vulkins added on.

 

“You should be smiling too?”

 

“Aren’t you excited?”

 

“Aren’t you happy?” We went around them, and I waved goodbye.

 

The smallest Froggit I had ever seen, barely bigger than a normal frog stood in our way. All four of its eyes stared into our own and it smiled.

 

“You’re going to be free.” Frisk leaned down at the impossibly tiny frog and gave it a hug, it leaned in relishing in the warmth before letting go and hopping away:

 

I couldn't begin to understand just how much Monsterkind has suffered at the hands of humanity. I wanted to set them free once and for all.

 

“Chara?” Chara had collapsed to the ground, her tears forming a millimeter wide pool on the ground. Frisk was concerned and approached her cautiously not wanting to provoke her.

 

“I…want to tell you guys something before we go.”

 

“ _ Yes. _ ” I blinked at our synchronization, but Chara was more important right now.

 

“I know Frisk will disagree but…I’m not the greatest person. I did so many terrible things, my choices have ruined the lives of so many people.” She closed her eyes, and she curled in on herself 

 

“I hated humanity…but I loved him. I loved dad and mom, I even loved Gaster. They were the closest I ever had to a real family.” 

 

“Child…” Red wanted to comfort the child, but he couldn’t without her body.

 

“F-Frisk… When Asriel and I became one. I wanted to destroy them all…not just grab a few human souls. I wanted to raze that damn village down to the ground. But Asriel stopped me…even if we had to die, I don’t blame him. I  _ know  _ what I would have become if he had let me kill those humans. I hated humanity so much, I wanted to make them suffer  _ far  _ worse than they had made me suffer.”

 

“But the both of you proved me wrong. That humans could be good, that things could get better. I don’t understand how the both of you can so nice!”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure I’m n-not that n—.” She cut me off, and I took a step back.

 

“You never once tried to harm a monster, even in our fight with Mettaton you never intended to really hurt him! No matter whether this was a game in your world, they were still monsters trying to  _ kill _ you.”

 

“I…umm” I didn’t know how to respond. 

 

“I…well I just knew that we could help them, it just…” Chara waved her hand and replied for me.

 

“Seemed like the right thing to do?” I nodded.

 

I wasn’t always the greatest at the whole “empathy” thing but I could understand that the monsters being trapped underground just wasn’t right.

 

Chara steeled herself, and I stiffened as she gave me a hug. She let go quickly with an awkward cough, and I scratched my chin in anxiety.

 

“Now let’s get going okay, you big wimps” She marches toward the Final Corridor

 

Frisk gave Chara a smug smirk behind her back, and dived toward the girl getting a quick hug before we entered the hall.

 

I wonder if sans would be there…?

 

***

 

I blinked as yellow tinted light surged in through the windows. The room we were in was magnificent, like it had been carved out with tremendous care, by Simone who loved their job. It’s walls were well cleaned and maintained, not a speck of dust in the golden chamber borders. The only dust I could see, was the little notes floating in the gently blowing wind.

 

I supposed it was time to be judged…

 

We walked forward and I waited, looking around to see if sans was around. I’m not sure whether or not things would change enough.

 

“sup/ _ hello. _ ” I was startled as  _ two  _ voices greeted us at the same time. sans appeared from the front, while a limping Gaster walked toward us from the back. Gaster coughed before inhaling several Mettaton steaks, his limping stopped and he shook out his right leg as it had fallen asleep.

 

“Are you doing okay?” I was worried, those injuries looked bad. Gaster waved me off, and patted himself with bits of plant matter coming off of him in droves.

 

“Just fine, I won’t be much help from now on howev—.” He let out a wracking cough, and shook his head. He stopped us from getting any closer, and moved closer to sans. The smaller skeletons pupils briefly glanced at his father before turning to us.

 

Father and son stood side by side for the first time in a long time for this final judgement.

 

The ringing of bells could be clearly heard.

 

The three of us stared down the two monsters, and a small smile had grown on my face.

 

“So we’ve reached the end of your journey…” Gaster was the first to start, a gentle smile I had seen only sparingly.

 

“soon you’ll meet the king. together you’ll determine the future of human and monsterkind.” sans added on to his father’s train of thought

 

“Now…” Gaster spoke up, his expression almost grim if it wasn’t for the bright twinkle in his eyes.

 

“You will be judged for your every action in the Underground. For every EXP or Execution Point you have earned. A name that is self evident in its meaning”

 

“as for LV you must have heard this spiel a million times already.” I gave him a so-so gesture, and he shrugged back.

 

_ —Play Judgement— _

 

“no matter how many monsters attacked you, hurt you,  _ killed _ you. you never dared to kill or hurt any one. neither of you ever abused the power of reset for your own purposes. 

 

Frisk  _ beamed _ , and I could see her eyes turn watery from the corner of my eye. sans stood up and straightened and I could see the hope in his expression as he looked at me.

 

“You did the best you could, in a situation you would never have expected. You kept the kid safe, kept her from getting even more hurt despite your confusion and panic. You never had to do that, you could have just stayed in Home or done the bare minimum.”

 

“Well duh, she’s just a kid sans.” I couldn’t help but get a little offended.

 

It wouldn’t feel right to leave a  _ child  _ to save a race of monsters on their own.

 

“Heh…” His grin widened and he pointed behind him with his thumb.

 

“Asgore is waiting for the two of you. Some monsters must have spotted you and he found out through them. But despite this, everything should be going according to plan.” Gaster nodded, and he adjusted his ruffled turtleneck. 

 

“I’m going to get everyone okay? Just hold it for long enough, and we can finally be free..”

 

“But you won’t be alone…I will go with you.” He weakly coughed and Chara looked up at him in worry.

 

“I can’t fight Asgore in my condition but I can still help provide you some extra protection.” He pulled out several cyan crystals wrapped in little pads, and he placed them on several spots of our armor, which lit up with a barrier.

 

“I’ll take care of everything from here my son.” sans turned on his heel ready to leave, until Frisk rammed into him with unrelenting force. She tightens her hold on him, and he turned pulling her close. His smile had become a little wobbly, and his hands brushed through her hair with familiarity.

 

After a full minute they let go of each other. sans walked the way I came, and just before he reached the exit,  he turned and gave us all a big smile.

 

“good luck, and don’t worry.” He waved lazily, and with a spring in his step.

 

“when you need help we’ll be there.”

 

He left, and his padded footsteps faded off into the distance. I stiffened at Red’s chuckles, and I saw the wetness in his eyes. No true tears of course, his physiology didn’t allow for it.

 

“What is this feeling inside of me?” He questioned himself, the old maniraptoran shivering a bit.

 

“Ah…it's hope.” Frisk’s eyes lit up, and she sniffled a little herself. 

 

“Let us go my friends, the end of this tale is at hand.” Gaster mentioned with a smirk. Chara rolled her eyes and strutted along.

 

“You don’t have to be so dramatic you bonehead, now let’s go befriend my dad.” Gaster nodded and we walked out of the Final Corridor.

 

We were ready to face the King under the Mountain.

 

***

 

We were left with two grey paths, the left leading to Asgore while the right led to the fallen children. Chara looked down at the rightward pass, as did Gaster. Frisk was confused and walked into the rightward path before we could stop her. I followed her swiftly, and I flinched as I heard her gasp in shock.

 

There were seven coffins… each were of different size and shape, with a different colored heart emblazoned on their wooden frame. Frisk looked terrified, and I squeezed her hand hoping it would help.

 

She didn’t dare to get any closer, and Chara’s expression darkened at the name printed onto the seventh one. It was the perfect size for her to fit into, and she drifted away in discomfort.

 

“This is…” Frisk trailed off, speechless at the morbid sight

 

Looking down at those coffins, everything felt far more real. If we failed, we would die and Asgore would destroy humanity. In reality it wouldn’t kill us permanently…but…

 

I didn’t want to feel the pain of dying again, I j-just couldn’t.

 

“I am sorry for what we did to you.” I could hear the guilt in the undying skeletons voice. I curled my hands and sighed.

 

For a moment we decided to bow our heads in silence in respect for the dead.

 

Once our sigil ended, we turned left walking straight into the King’s Garden.

 

***

 

**Flower.**

 

Flowey growled at the voice in his head. The soulless flower had initially welcomed the voice, it being the first thing to change in a long time. But over time it had grown more and more aggressive, overriding his other thoughts and desires.

 

And that frightened him…

 

He had accepted a small boost in power, but it had only perpetuated his madness. Soon he would lose all of his free will and he couldn’t stand for that. He would not be the plaything of someone else.

 

_ This was a mistake, I should have listened to that fool. Anything would be better than this. _ His body had stood still, except for his vines. They had grown and expanded, blocking off any possible entry forcing a fight between the humans and Asgore.

 

The part of him that was Asriel still thought back to his fight with Gaster.

 

_ —Flashback— _

 

_ Boom _ !

 

Flowey was thrown back by the impact, even his enormous body unable to cope with the attack. Gaster looked unscathed, and he smugly brushed off the dust on his clothes. The skeleton did not looked impressed.

 

“Is that all you can do Prince Asriel.” Flowey sneered his grin widening into a horrifying snarl.

 

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!!” The maddened monster raged, his attacks firing off wildly. Gaster elegantly and easily weaved around them, his face schooled into a blank expression. A vine sprouted from underground, and the scientist smirked as wave of bones blocked the attack and then smacked Flowey back and forth.

 

“It seems you missed me.” Flowey growled, at the tone in the skeleton’s voice.

 

“But your  _ aim _ is getting better!” Complete with a brow waggle. 

 

“SHUT UP!!” Gaster vanished just as bullets hit his position, and Flowey ducked under a blue plasma beam, hissing as his petals were singed. He cried out even more as he uprooted by blue magic and thrown against a stone wall. He hissed again, and a squelching sound was heard as eight vines regenerated from where his roots had been.

 

Flowey now resembled a demented octopus, each of the vines surging and scraping multiple tons of rock with his sharp thorns. Gaster kept his balance as the chamber they were in rumbled. A bone sharpened to a point erupted from the ground, and Gaster slashed at the other monster in the room. Two vines burst open, plant liquids flooding out for a moment before quickly regenerating. His power had only grown after accepting the strange deal, and he smirked as Gaster was hit by a few discrete bullets.

 

“Asriel please understand! This is a mistake!” Flowey scowled and and his eight vines drilled through a meter of rock. Gaster was forced to dodge Stalactites as they fell from the destabilizing ceiling.

 

“All deals with her end in tragedy!” The formed prince stiffened, and felt numbness in one of his vines. It attacked without his input, and he felt spasms rock his body.

 

_ What is this? _

 

**FIGHT.**

 

A shiver of fear contorted his face, and his vines exploded off. The plant matter was set ablaze becoming self guiding missiles. Gaster grunted as he dodged the magical attacks, and Flowey winced as the scientist was hit directly in the chest.

 

“W-What are you talking about?” His lips felt alien, and unused and his mind seemed to be fading.

 

“She is using you as her puppet Asriel! Break free before it is too l—GAHHH!” Gaster wheezed and stepped back unsteadily as several vines pierced through his bones. He choked as the vines slowly started to crush him. 

 

_ NOO! _

 

The vines fell loose, and Gaster teleported away, he recovered quickly and summoned a dozen blasters. Flowey felt his free will weaken, and his vines shot out thorns at transonic velocities.

 

**“SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!!”** Gaster screamed in agony as he was hit by an endless barrage of bullets, chipping away at his HP with prejudice. Flowey roared as his petals were burnt off by a rogue blaster. He felt a strange pressure surge from the skeleton, and he felt the strange confidence without him  _ wither. _

 

Gaster seemed to be fading in and out of existence, his body distorting and glitching. His body was revealed to be constantly melting and reforming, and Flowey was taken aback.

 

“It seems there’s no more reason to hold back anymore.” 

 

_ —Play Dark, Darker yet Darker Remix— _

 

Flowey felt the magical pressure radiating from the doctor, and hissed in response. He moved back, as the doctor drew close.

 

“What are you?” Gaster smirked at the flower’s question.

 

“The two of us have much in common, we’re both very  _ determined _ .” Gaster started to walk again, and Flowey pulled back even more.

 

Step by step, the skeleton got only closer. And then…he attacked.

 

A wave of bones crushed the fragile ground underneath them, each bone as wide as Asgore was tall and ten times  _ that  _ width. Flowey dived out of the way, balancing on two of his remaining roots. Another squelching sound heralded another regeneration, Flowey formed his vines into a ball and  _ bounced. _ Narrowly avoiding a massive hand from crushing him, the attack left an imprint of a hand, and the room shook even more.

 

Flowey smiled madly as his power grew, each bullet weakening the doctor inch by inch. The prince yelped as his stem was grazed by a blaster, and summoned a dozen vines, each whipping at supersonic speeds. He was flabbergasted as Gaster blocker each attack with his  _ bare  _ hands, each block controlled and strong. He felt his body wracked by the vibrations as all the energy went back into him.

 

_ How is he still alive?  _

 

Gaster was eerily calm and with a snap of his fingers summoned six small hands. They closed and fired igneous rock melting beams in the ground. They carved out the shape of a machete, and after an exposure to a blue crystal were flash frozen. With a smirk Gaster telekinetically pulled the sword into his waiting hands. The blade glowed green as small green crystal was magically infused with it. He seemed well acquainted with such a blade and lowered into a combat stance.

 

Flowey blinked and the doctor was now behind him. He ducked his face just avoiding the impossibly sharp blade. He summoned another bullet sphere and blanched as the pellets were sliced in half in less than second. The flower received a punch right to the face, and nearly crumpled under the force behind the blow.

 

He found himself surrounded in a football field sized maze of bones. Flowey twisted three hundred and sixty degrees searching for a way out. The moment he saw a glimmer of blue he struck with force. He found nothing but a pile of lifeless bones.

 

“Stop this nonsense young man and come to your senses.” 

 

The wind surrounding him stopped…and the rattling of bones replaced the noise.

 

Hundreds of bones slammed into him, his power waning with each tremendous hit. He sunk to the collapsing ground as the weight of a mountain bore down on him. He cried out in pain, even with his boost it wasn’t enough to fight someone who had lived eternity. Flowey heard the footsteps grow closer, and whimpered as he saw the shadow overhead. The monstrous flower heard the signature glow of a blaster, and was now facing his own death. The wide open maw of the dragon like skull preparing to fire. 

 

“You are  _ done  _ Asriel, no more of your foolish tantrum.” Gaster was waiting for Flowey’s response.

 

**I will not let you die, you still have a use.**

 

Flowey’s eyes shined an unnerving white and felt  _ power _ flood into his metaphorical veins. With a single flick, three dozen vines pierced Gaster’s spine and he gasped for air he didn’t need.

 

“W-What? H-How…nhg.” The vines retracted into the ground and Flowey couldn’t take the look in the doctor's eye…

  
  


Flowey ran away… unaware of the signature  _ pop _ of teleportation.

 

_ —Flashback— _

 

Flowey shivered and then continued to block the entrances. The flower felt another wave of disturbing spasms. He winced as magical fireballs, bone attacks, blue spears and electrical attacks slowly and inexorably carved a hole through one of his vines.

 

**You only need to wait a little while longer Asriel.** Flowey had no choice but to comply, his control of his own body now minimal.

 

**Do not be silly child. This is your doing,** **_your_ ** **will.** Flowey smiled at the voice, nodding his head in unsteady agreement. He wasn’t insane, there was no loss of his free will. He  _ wanted  _ to do this because he could.

 

“Of course…the doctor was just lying to me.” He convinced himself and then shut up, as another spasm passed through his body.

 

The flower remained in silence as he continued his work, all alone in the darkness. Nothing could be heard for miles, except for the silent screams of Asriel, asking for help.

 

**But** **_nobody_ ** **came.**

 

***

 

Sunlight streamed down from a few small holes in the high ceiling. There was an entire flowerbed of Golden Flowers, they had been well kept too. The walls loomed over us, and I felt a little nervous coming here to this place.

 

But I also felt oddly tranquil here, there was an atmosphere I genuinely liked in this garden. Frisk swiveled her head, drawn in by the beauty surrounding us.

 

And in the center of that garden of golden flowers…

 

Was the King of Monsters himself. He stood with his back to us, humming a quiet tune under his breath. I heard the sprinkling of liquid, as he watered his plants. Asgore.’s head tilted up but he didn’t immediately turn around.

 

“Oh! Some visitors? Please, give me a moment to water these flowers.”

 

“Of course my king.” The king stiffened for a moment as Gaster replied, before continuing with his watering.

 

His voice was deep and kindly, reminding me of a jolly father or grandfather. I felt dread at the voice. He easily had one of the deepest voices I’d ever heard in a person. But despite that I could still hear the kindness and and gosh darn friendliness in it. 

 

I didn’t want to fight such a kind person…I didn’t really want to fight any one. I suppose I was just too lazy of a person to do something like that.

 

“Almost done here…” I heard some rustling as he prepared to turn around. I heard the can run empty, and felt Asgore shift his movements to keep from crushing the flowers.

 

Asgore turned around…

 

“Howdy! How can I…” His friendly and goofy smile melted away and he stepped back as if burned. Gaster only looked saddened at the expression of horror and guilt on his king’s face.

 

“O-Oh…” I had never thought I would see a being so big look so timid. His eyes widened in recognition at the weakened skeleton.

 

“I…remember…Gaster?” The skeleton nodded at the goat monsters question. He didn’t seem to remember much else however, only his name as well as some faded memories.

 

“It has been some time my old friend.” Red perked up, and with an odd twinkle in his eyes decided to interrupt.

 

“Well… _ you’re _ the king of Monsters huh?” Asgore nodded, though he looked confused.

 

“Are you not a monster yourself?” Asgore looked even more bewildered as Red shook his head side to side.

 

“I’m…something else. I’m more like the birds from the surface, just smarter.” Asgore turned back to us, his gaze uncertain and I gently blocked his view of Frisk. She still stuck out her neck to look up at him, in awe of his gentle majesty.

 

“I so desperately…want to ask “would you like a cup of tea.” His voice quaked just the slightest, and my body tensed.

 

“But…you know how it is.” I felt my fists curl up, and a heat rise up in my stomach.

 

“I can’t accept that.” Asgore blinked at my blithe response.

 

“We don’t have to fight! It doesn't have to be this way.” Frisk pleaded, desperation visible in her eyes.

 

“We can find another way.” Gaster’s hoarse words made the King flinch back.

 

“What other way is there? Monsterkind can wait no longer Gaster! You know that we are running out of time and resources so why?” Gaster opened his mouth to answer before visibly flinching. He stumbled and I rushed toward him, keeping him from falling flat on his face. He was shivering, and Frisk decided to try to use healing magic. She succeeded with only minor success, his breathing becoming easier.

 

“We must go…” Asgore had steeled himself for the ensuing battle. 

 

“Damn it how can I be so wea…” Gaster let out a racking cough. I patted his back, unsure of what was wrong with him.

 

Dammit why am I alway so useless…in these situations. Gaster’s eyes blazed and he forced himself to stand up.

 

“That flower…Red go, they must not be delayed more than necessary or this will all be for nothing!” Red nodded, and I felt a small quake and smelled fire. There was a boom, and I raised an eyebrow as Red left small imprints on the ground with each footstep. I heard a distant shriek as the raptor attacked something with impunity.

 

“Humans…” I turned back to Asgore with alarm.

 

“There is something you must see.” 

 

We reluctantly followed the King. We saved just before the exit, and once we passed it we saw a sight unlike any other in the world. The ingame art for the barrier didn’t even come  _ close _ to depicting the magic spells raw majesty.

 

It was more than a bland wall of light. It was a menagerie of colors and shapes, and strange esoteric languages. Frisk looked at it in awe, the strange and unnatural beauty too captivating to miss. This wall was the one thing that kept Monsters trapped so far underground. This wall was what stopped the hopes and dreams of Monsterkind. I felt shivers run down my spine. This was the barrier that contained all the magic in the cosmos of countless realms. The barrier that along with  _ Determination  _ created the power of Reset, the power to control time itself.

 

The power of a  _ GOD _ .

 

“This is the barrier, this is what keeps us trapped underground.” I stiffened and rooted my feet to the ground. Frisk unsteadily took out the frying pan from her inventory. I had the tough glove but not much else, I didn’t even know how to use a knife. Gaster had followed us, but his injuries dragged him down and he was forced onto the sidelines.

 

‘Child.’ I pursed my lips, trying to keep my expression neutral. 

 

‘Yeah?’ I asked him mentally.

 

‘Buy as much time as possible, and keep his injuries minimal. We can’t have him dying by mistake.’ Frisk nodded, and I realized it wasn’t a one way conversation. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gaster prepare  _ something. _ He was planning to fight Asgore despite his injuries, though with how weak he was it wouldn’t be much help.

 

I took a step back as Asgore slammed his red trident into the ground. In response seven pods emerged from below the floor, one was empty.  Each pod had a bright glowing heart, almost like mini suns in their intensity. Each SOUL shined their respective color, but there were glimmers of other colors that belonged to the previous fallen children.

 

“Are you ready.” Frisk was shivering but despite her fear she let out a whispered “yes” anyway. Asgore was smiling but I could see the tenseness and strain under it. He looked…just  _ tired. _ I clenched my fist, nervously and frankly terrified. I heard a strange tune as a mysterious twilight started to shine through the barrier. The battle menu appeared once again, and for nearly the last time.

  
  


“Humans…” A strange wind and heat flow out from the King’s body, and I drew my aura from my body. 

 

“It was nice meeting you…Goodbye.” With a single attack, he destroyed the Mercy button.

 

_ —Play Asgore(amella remix)— _

 

“W-What?” I had mentioned this to Frisk before but she hadn’t believed me back then. Asgore let out a deep breath and proceeded to rip off his cloak, revealing the golden armor underneath.

 

“I will not be holding back, not against  _ two _ humans.” Asgore’s head remained lowered not able to look at us in the eye. Gaster smirked, but covered it up with a cough.

 

Asgore swing his trident and Frisk leaped into action, blocking the attack with a green shield. I felt the shockwave vibrate the air but I stood my ground. Frisk gift her teeth as the shield bent under the sheer force of Asgore’s attack.

 

“Asgore please don’t do this!” Frisk begged the monster to stop.

 

But he didn’t…

 

A wave of fireballs singed our clothing as we narrowly avoided being cooked alive. Frisk dropped to a knee, dodging a boot to the face from the massive monster. Frisk leaped in the air, and with all her might smacked him against the barrier with a single swing of the Burnt Pan.

 

“Gahh!” Frisk had a look of guilt but shook her head, and lowered into a baseball stance of some sort. Asgore stood up, and  _ dozens  _ of fireballs formed a wall of fire as tall as a two story building. 

 

My— _ SHIT!  _ I jumped over it while Frisk tanked it with a barrier. Unfortunately being in midair left me vulnerable and the King took advantage of it. Suddenly, he was in front of me, and I felt a furry paw grab me by the throat and then slam me down to the ground like a rag doll.

 

The shining ground shimmered, and I swear I heard my spine crack. I knocked  _ that  _ thought out of my head since I didn’t want to die. I rolled out of the way of a trident stab, and I  _ paled  _ as three holes were drilled into the rainbow light. I rolled onto my feet, and formed two purple whips, wrapping them around Asgore’s wrists. My phone started to glow yellow and I got an idea, the two whips pulsed and a huge yellow plasma explosion sent the king reeling back.

 

‘Holy hell, is he okay?’ Chara asked me with worry as the dust cloud settled. When I turned to face her I didn’t notice the orange and blue eyes staring back at me. I felt an ache of pain, as an orange trident launched me in the air. Asgore vanished crossing the 10 meter distance in 25 milliseconds. I retched as the punch crashed into my stomach. I heard Frisk yell and Asgore was forced back by several laser bullets to the face. I scowled and with a roar threw the power of Asgore’s back at him times two.

 

His face was briefly twisted into a pained grimace as he took the hit. I decided to try to convince him to stop, hoping with all my will it would work.

 

“Asgore please…you don’t want this! Your people don’t want this! And even if you take our SOULS you will find nothing! No armies of humans, no mages, a world where you are the single largest government on the planet!”

 

“Well except for Canada…” Frisk muttered under her breath and I gave her a weirded out look.

 

Asgore slashed his weapon in an arc, and I bent backwards, the glowing weapon only slicing a single strand of hair from my head. In that moment of overextension, Frisk rushed him and he lost his footing in the ensuing collision of human and goat-dragon. He tried and failed to grab the slippery human, Frisk continuously whacking him in various weak points. 

 

The king steadied his footing and then  _ spun.  _ I nearly flew away, as the speed of his spinning created a miniature windstorm and Frisk was tossed off. I caught her in midair, and felt as the wind was displaced by  _ my  _ speed. In our moment of vulnerability Asgore tried to strike before a minuscule shift in the air made him miss us my inches.

 

“I…need your SOULS, so that MY people can be FREE!” Asgore roared and we were surrounded in a bubble of fire. The red flames shifted to blue, and we were assaulted by 3000 degree fire. The aura crystal barrier activated, blocking the   _ burning  _ flames. It bought us enough time to activate our poorly controlled aura, and I felt revitalized, our injuries weren’t healing very well though. 

 

Frisk was breathing really heavily…maybe she can sit this one out for a bit and just dodge. She looked determined and from behind her back pulled out a Butterscotch pie and ate it quickly, the magical food fully healing her. Asgore stumbled on his next attack missing by a mile. I pulled out  my own magical pie and when I took a bite…

 

It was  _ amazing _ .

 

I felt like I could run a 500 mile marathon and then some, and lowered myself into a forward stance I remembered from a mixed martial arts class I took for a month or so. The only reason we were still alive, was that despite what he said the King was still holding back.

 

Two inexperienced kids fighting against a biologically immortal king with untold amounts of experience and training. That we were still alive was a testament to Asgore’s reluctance and restraint.

 

“Asgore please do you think Toriel would want this?! Do you think your  _ children  _ would?! The humans who killed them are all  _ gone _ , they destroyed themselves leaving a nearly empty world!” 

 

OH  _ GOD  _ I pissed him off! I weaved around flurry of stabs, and blocked two with my weaker green shield. The shield broke in two, and with a click of my tongue a thin mist wrapped around him, and his attacks slowed. Even then, he was still far faster than a being of that size should be. But a single back slap was still enough to knock me onto my knees. I lifted back my fist and the shockwave as it hit the ground blew the goat man back. 

 

A bright light above me alerted me to the danger I was in, Asgore had made a death ball Frieza style and with a flick of a solitary finger brought it down on top of me.

 

“NOO!!” I heard Frisk scream, and an overwhelming red and green light made the Barrier shudder under the force. I blinked the spots out of my eyes, and my eyes bugged out at the round shield protecting me from the bus sized ball of flames. Frisk was positively  _ glowing _ , with dabs of red liquid falling from her enraged eyes. Her right hand was glowing green while her right hand was on  _ fire.  _ That fire formed into a roughly sword shaped blob. It focused into some type of giant knife or short sword, and she dived toward the flabbergasted mountain king. 

 

He brought his trident down, but the knife managed to block the much larger weapon  _ anyway. _ They practically flash stepped around the empty battlefield, shockwave after shockwave shaking the room. I focused and eventually managed to get a better grip on the impossibly fast fight.

 

Asgore’s left eye turned blue, while his right turned orange. His trident rocketed in a back and forth motion. Frisk stopped on a dime, and then leaped to escape the respective blue and orange attacks. She landed with her free hand, and flipped back on her feet. She flipped the grip of the knife and then formed another one.

 

Jeez how the hell is she doing— She dashed at him, just as his weapon missed her head, she hooked onto the trident and pulled it away from him. The weapon was thrown across the room, and there was a brief silence.

 

Before Asgore pulled his head back and gave Frisk a headbutt right onto her forehead. She  _ flew _ , and crashed into the barrier with a  _ BOOM. _

 

“F-Frisk are you okay?” I heard her groan in pain, and I felt a strange  _ heat  _ in my body, at the pained expression on her face. She was whimpering, as she held her bleeding arm and shook with the pain.

 

What was this feeling inside me?

 

“Get a grip child, you’re hyperventilating.” Gaster tried and  _ failed  _ to calm me down.

 

‘H-Hey…’ Chara sounded nervous and I wondered what I was feeling… 

 

Oh… 

 

Now I know… 

 

Pure rage is what I’m feeling right now.

 

“Asgore… I apologize for this in advance.” He looked puzzled at my response. I raised my hand up in a wave, and with a small smile on my face threw a 50 foot wave of blue magic at him. It didn't hurt but it did take away his footing and distract him. I reached for his SOUL, and he gasped as it turned blue. With a flick I proceeded to shove Asgore’s face into the dirt, several dozen times in fact. I leaped into the air leaving a crater on the ground, I lifted one leg up high and fell back down to Earth, crashing my foot right into his face.

 

He threw me off, and the both of us went into a full on fist fight. Asgore wrapped his fist in flames, throwing a punch that I took right to the face. I felt my nose crack, and twisted it back into place. In my distraction he threw another that I managed to block, despite the massive size difference we were nearly even in strength.

 

“ENOUGH!” Asgore demanded, and we continued to FIGHT to decide the fate of this world. I could feel the rush of  _ power _ that surged inside of me, yearning to be released.

 

I wanted to save everyone, I had to keep Asgore occupied long enough so help could arrive. 

 

“HIYA!!” I nearly froze as Frisk got back into the fray, having eaten another pie. Dozens of yellow lasers singed and melted globs of Asgore’s armor, and he hissed as he got burned. He got into a strange stance I hadn't seen previously but it felt and looked familiar. He reeled both his fists as far back as anatomically possible, and I paled as I realized what he was going to do.

 

“FRISK SHIELD NOW!” I ordered Frisk in desperation and rushed behind her, adding my own shield to our defense.

 

I fell into near unconsciousness as what felt like a hurricane shattered our shield, shattered our aura and battered our already weakened body.

 

I could feel the heavy footsteps of Asgore draw closer and I felt a tingle of fear run down my spine. Blood started running down my face, blocking the vision of my left eye. Frisk was in a similar state, and I felt her collapse onto my side. Asgore had retrieved his gigantic weapon, and was  _ slowly _ walking toward us. A weak blue glow revealed that Gaster was slowing him down, but  _ not  _ stopping him.

 

“Please…I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die again.” Frisk was blubbering, and I only pulled her in closer as Asgore raised his trident into the air, posing to strike a final blow.

 

“I…am sorry.”

 

The wind rushed as the trident came down to end us.

 

_ KABLAM!!! _

 

A multicolored explosion knocked the King away from us, and I let out a shuddery breath as the blood red weapon clattered on the ground. I felt a soothing energy flow into my veins, and the trickle of blood stopped. I blinked to clear my blurry vision and my eyes widened, as the King lay prone and smoking on the ground. I could hear him groan painfully, as well as the sounds of Gaster and Chara sighing in relief.

 

“What a miserable creature! Trying to strike down two innocent youths against the wishes of your own people!”

 

Hey Tori…

 

***

 

Toriel helped the both of us to to our feet. I could hear some ragged breathing from behind us.

 

“Is that sans?”

 

“INDEED IT IS MY HUMAN FRIEND! MY BROTHER USED A LOT OF ENERGY TO CUT THROUGH THAT GIANT VINE!”

 

“H-Hey Papyrus.” Frisk managed to stutter out a greeting. Papyrus was currently lifting his father onto his feet, and a green glow indicated some healing magic. sans was yawning but he was managing to stay awake despite the amount of energy he had used.

 

“heh…yess…oh god!” sans hunched over and burped loudly letting out a bubble of blue magic. I have no idea how  _ that  _ makes any sense whatsoever but…

 

I heard the click of claws, heels, and metallic boots… 

 

“H-Hey stop fighting!”

 

“ **Oh darlings have we made it just in time?** ”

 

“HEY BESTIES YOU ALIVE?!”

 

“My little bird!”

 

Toriel started to  _ beam  _ at the concern our monster friends were expressing.  All three of the monsters and Red crowded over us, and I rolled my neck wincing as I heard a crack. Red was silent, but continuously nuzzled the young human.

 

“Are these your friends?” We nodded in response to Toriel’s question. Undyne’s eye widened in recognition at the symbol on the former queens dress.

 

“Wait are you?!” Toriel smiled kindly at the younger monster.

 

“Greetings. I am Toriel.”

 

“HOLY SHI—. Hrmm I mean I’m Undyne, captain of the Royal Guard.” She nearly bowed her head, and Toriel gently stopped her out of embarrassment.

 

“Oh please there’s no need for that. I haven’t been Queen in a  _ long  _ time.” She gave the King a glare before turning her attention back to us.

 

“Oh have you been doing?” Frisk gave a so-so gesture and I shrugged.

 

“We’ve been going okay I guess.”

 

“Uugghh.” Toriel stiffened as her ex husband slowly got up, he grabbed his trident to use as a cane. He rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them, his jaw dropped and he looked full of hope.

 

“Tori…you came back.” He tried to walk up to her, but froze as she gave him a death glare.

 

“No…” It looked like she had more to say but she decided against it. sans walked up to us, glad to to see us.

 

“heh it’s been a pretty hard time hasn’t it? it’s good to see you guys aren’t a pile of  _ bones. _ ”

 

“Ha Ha,  _ very  _ funny.” I was not amused one bit. Toriel perked up, as she heard the bone brothers voice.

 

“I wasn’t sure before, but are you the voice from behind the door?” 

 

The  _ look  _ on Asgore’s face…

 

“It seems that everyone is finally here.” Gaster had summoned a bone to use as a cane. 

 

“It’s over right?” Red asked the doctor but he didn’t reply, muttering under his breath and ruining the moment. He pulled out a monitor, and made adjustments to some calculations in assuming. The monsters talked among themselves, openly and happily conversing and laughing together.

 

I heard the pitter patter of small feet as Frisk walked over to the King and rugged on his robe. Asgore was unusually quiet, and she gently grasped the furry monsters hands. Her own tiny lightly scarred hands looking even smaller in his massive paws.

 

“No…more fighting right?” Frisk just sounded  _ tired  _ and so was I.

 

“Indeed child, I am sorry for all the things I did or would have done to you. I hope you can someday forgive me.”

 

Frisk smiled and rubbed her chin, as she thought of something.

 

“Well…I think we can be even if you get me that cup of tea you were talking about.”

 

“Of course…in fact.” I perked up, as Asgore stood tall. All the monsters even Toriel came together in a loose group.

 

“I want to make you an offer.” We nodded and he raised up his large arm for us to take. 

 

“Perhaps you can become a part of our family. Together we can forge a new path for humans and monsters alike. With the power of the six human SOULS and with the soul magic you are learning perhaps we can break the barrier once and for all.” Every monster looked ecstatic and couldn’t wait to be free.

 

“What do you say.” Just as my hand grazed his fingers I froze as I remembered something.

 

Where is F—

 

I was blinded by a black and white blur, and heard a sickening squelching sound right where…

 

No…

 

NO…

 

NOO!

 

“FRISK!!” I screamed out her name, and started to shake. Asgore’s face was twisted in a mix of horror and pain, as massive vines tightly wrapped around and trapped him.

 

But oh Frisk…

 

She was shivering, as a small hole just east of her chest started to bleed. A vine retracted from it, and proceeded to trap her too. She pressed her hand against it in denial, and then started  _ screaming. _

 

“ _ Ohh  _ golly did you forget about little old me. I suppose you need a little reminder that you're friendly homicidal flower is still here!”

 

The SOULS were gone…and Flowey had taken their place. 

 

Why was I the only one not trapped? I threw out a hand and then felt a small bubble around myself and blanched as a gooey Dr. Gaster did his best to keep himself together. He didn’t seem to be particularly distressed or in pain however.

 

“dad!!” sans yelled out in worry, and he struggled in the flower’s deceptively strong grip. Gaster collapsed and I felt his gooey body use me as support. Chara was holding onto an increasingly sleepy Frisk and I felt terrible worry inside of me.

 

‘No. No. No!’ She rocked back and forth in midair.

 

“AWW how cute, you’re worried about little Frisky aren’t you purple trash bag” I snarled and he only smiled in response.

 

“You thought you ever stood a chance in beating u—me. Without Frisk you will NEVER have enough Determination to stop ME!” Frisk was whimpering as the pain became unbearable. I felt tears pinprick at the edge of my eyes, before I blinked them away. The demented houseplant cackled and he ever so slightly started to grow in size, rivaling Omega Flowey in mass.

 

“You’re an outsider, a human with NOTHING to his name. Worthless garbage, with a weak SOUL not even worth absorbing. You’re not Frisk, and without that power or the magic of a monster you will  _ always  _ be pathetic.”

 

Did I even stand a chance against him? I was just  _ me. _ I wasn’t a Boss monster, a royal scientist, a strong skeleton, or a powerful knight. I felt my resolve dwindle, and I grasped my leg to stop the shaking.

 

What was even the point? I should just give up…

 

_ —Play Don't Give Up—  _

 

“Don’t…” I lifted up my head to face Frisk.

 

“Don’t give up. You can do it.” My eyes widened, and I shook my head.

 

“come on, you can beat this dumb flower just as good as  _ she  _ could. there’s still a chance.” sans spoke up quietly.

 

“Please, you have come this far, I believe in you child of the world above”

 

A-Asgore…

 

“I KNOW YOU CAN DEFEAT THIS FLOWER AND WE CAN HELP!” 

 

“COME ON BESTY YOU TOOK ME AND ASGORE HEAD ON AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!” Undyne roared at the top of her lungs encouraging me.

 

“B-Beat this guy, please don’t give in!”

 

“ **Darling don’t show such a poor follow up to our own battle.** ”

 

“Fight on my child, you have to find your family!”

 

Mom, dad… _ home. _

 

“Please protect her…” Red coughed out a plea, and I felt a surge of  _ yellow  _ inside of me. I smirked as I heard the crowded rush of footsteps barre through the entrance. My hand shined like the sun alerting whoever was coming. 

 

“HEY!” 

 

I fired and Flowey shrieked as it got a direct hit on his face. A huge wave of magical attacks followed the direction on my own.

 

Icicles, fireballs, missiles, even hammers, and spiders knocked the flower down.

 

“HOI!”

 

“LIKE LEAVE METTATON AND ALPHYS ALONE!”

 

“DON’T TOUCH MY FLEX BUDS!”

 

“(STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!)” A massive orange red tongue of fire scorched Flowey’s skin and he thrashed around trying to crush the incoming monsters.

 

“THIS REMINDS ME OF A STORY! WA HA HA!” 

 

“MY DEARIES WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!”

 

“GET THAT THING!”

 

“Move Child.” I stumbled away, giving Flowey a passing glare.

 

“STAY AWAY FROM OUR FRIENDS!”

 

“OUR FAMILIES!”

 

The crowd had risen to a fever pitch unlike anything I had ever seen before.

 

“WE WILL PROTECT OUR HOME AND THIS WORLD!”

 

I couldn’t deny it but Flowey was losing, hundreds of magical attacks brought down his walls faster and faster. The vine holding up Red was cut off, and he was thrown far off into places unknown.

 

“NOO!! YOU THINK THIS CHANGES ANYTHING!” Vines exploded from every direction and idled.

 

They jabbed into  _ everyone  _ except Gaster and I, and my eyes closed shut as I heard the sound of flesh getting pierced.

 

“ **YOU! IDIOTS!** ”

 

I saw the light through my closed eyes, but I also felt  _ shadows  _ fill my veins. I lifted up my arms, and steadied my legs. Once I opened my eyes, I looked around and felt terror at finding only emptiness, a black void as far as the eye could see.

 

‘G-Gaster, Chara.’ I hastily looked around, hoping that had crossed with me to wherever  _ here  _ was.

 

‘I am here child.’

 

‘I’m o-okay.’ There was a detached numbness in Chara’s tone I didn’t like. There was shimmering and both appeared next to me. Chara was more solid than ever, while Gaster had been reduced to a vaguely humanoid blob.

 

‘Chara?’ 

 

‘Please save her.’ Chara was begging me out of nowhere, the young girl sounded afraid, and I nodded with a cool headed expression. I nearly panicked when I felt a strange liquid run down my clothing, until it melded together into a thin layer of armor and bone.

 

I froze as I heard slow and steady footsteps coming up from behind me. I turned around, and nearly knelt down as the fallen prince casually snuck up on me. Chara let out a choked sob, and the strange armor strengthened, and I felt a rush as   _ something  _ flowed inside of me.

 

“Howdy.” 

 

There was something different in the goat child’s gaze and aura. Gaster reformed his now invisible body, his face one of horror.

 

“In thousands upon thousands of Resets  _ this  _ has never happened before.” The silver tinged eyes of Asriel were filled with an unfathomable hatred and disgust.

 

“The power of 7…” The Void started to rumble and I lowered myself into a combat stance.

 

“Always the equivalent power of seven human SOULS.”

 

“But now…” he snapped his fingers, as  _ seven  _ human SOULS and countless monsters SOULS came together as one.

 

F-Frisk no… 

 

“Millions already know my name, human outworlder.” He continued his monologue, and I felt a push on my back from Chara.

 

“So let me reintroduce myself once again.” A rainbow colored light covered his body. I was blinded by the light, and barely kept my footing as a huge wind blew from his direction.

 

**“I AM! ASRIEL! DREEMURR!”**

 


	10. Chapter Nine: Hopes and Dreemurrs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we Are!

**Chapter Nine: Hopes and Dreemurrs**

 

I rubbed my eyes as the sun-like light faded away, and turned to face my…opponent.

 

Asriel Dreemurr was much more intimidating in person than on a computer screen. He was tall, almost the same height as his father. His gigantic horns curled around his floppy ears, a brief snarl revealing his sharp fangs. His purple robe fluttered in the turbulent wind of the void we were in. A heart shaped locket acting as the clasp for his cape. The prince’s red eyes stared back at me, his usually black sclera now glimmered silver.

 

‘ _What_ is this?’ Chara was shuddering and I could her feel her body, holding on to my back out of Asriel’s sight.

 

“The power of an eight SOUL Boss monster.” Asriel grew angry at hearing the doctor’s voice, but didn’t yet attack, as if waiting for some event.

 

“ **This is the end.** **Just give up human. Only Frisk could ever defeat me, and that’s because I _let_ her win.**” I crouched down into my best combative stance, and the fallen monster only laughed snidely.

 

“Together we will stand a chance against you.” Gaster denied Asriel’s boast.

 

“ **You’re an old weak fool Gaster! Even combined you don’t have enough determination to stop me! I am a GOD!** ”

 

The god like being floated up into the air, and he slowly hovered toward me.

 

“ **In another time and place, it would be Frisk standing here while I tried to Reset this world once again.** ” He had a cruel smile on his face, and snapped his fingers. The void started to glow, and I felt a strange power surging upwards.

 

Two _certain_ buttons flashed into existence, and I prepared myself to run with everything I got. His hand blurred as he tried to smack one of the button down,

 

**[Erase] [Do Not]**

 

I succeeded in blocking his press of Erase, and he frowned in response.

 

“ **You’re the only thing standing in my way. The worst part is that you think you even stand a chance.** ”

 

“I…”

 

Wasn’t going to give up like that. I still had had things to do, people to meet, I had someone to protect. I would fight to protect the ones that I love, wherever and whoever they are.

 

“I don’t care if you think I can’t win! I will fight to protect this world.” I heard a sonic boom, as I threw both buttons thousands of meters away. I heaved a bit under the sheer force I had exerted.

 

“ **Fool! You will DIE!** ” I didn’t even have time to raise my shaking hands up as Asriel Dreemurr fired off Star Blazing. Each time hit like a truck and I felt my SOUL start to break apart.

 

“ ** _Now let us finish this world and move on to the next._** ”

 

I heard his footsteps echo in the empty void, as well as the pulse of world destroying power getting ready to be unleashed.

 

_—But the Earth Refused to Die(Hybrid Orchestral Cover)—_

 

No…I _won’t_ let you destroy this world.

 

I grasped my chest, and I felt my SOUL shatter into a million pieces. I was fading away…but an _incredible_ power filled my veins. I could feel the hearts of everyone in the world beating as one. I stood back up, and marvelled at my hand. I could see it shifting between mine, and the hands of others fighting a similar battle.

 

‘What is this?’ I couldn’t help but as what was happening.

 

‘She’s losing controls of tens of thousands of timelines every second we are in this place. Brief cracks are letting us glimpse those other worlds.’ Gaster explained it to me with strain in his voice, as his power was used to keep me alive.

 

I could feel the hope and desperation of a million timelines coming together. This battle would change the fate of this world. There was a humming and I heard a distant stagger in a place unknown. I felt this strange power, and rubbed aside a flow of red. I heard footsteps behind me and a small hand pressed on my back. The hand felt like lightning as my new power multiplied a hundred fold.

 

“ **W-What!?** ” I smirked as my SOUL mended itself from the brink of death. I acknowledged the fallen child, and she gave me a sweet smile.

 

“ **But it refused…** ” A flash of red light filled the Void, and a flabbergasted God of Hyperdeath turned to face me.

 

Hopes and Dreams started to blare through nonexistent speakers shaking the entire plane of existence with pure sonic power.

 

“How are you doing this?!” Asriel had grown quieter as I took ever more steps toward the broken child.

 

“Just…keep moving…” Chara was pushing me forward and I lowered into a stance again. Asriel looked shocked, and he prepared another attack.

 

“Heh…you’re going to have to try a _little_ harder than that.” The entire Void rippled as _something_ tore through it, and Asriel stumbled.

 

“ **Y-You can’t defeat me! Not when I’m so close to seeing her again**.” He flinched as his ears perked up to hear something. The silver in his eyes grew stronger and neither and his body spasmed.

 

“Don’t be an _idiot_ Azzy!” Chara shouted out trying to reach out to her brother.

 

“ **C-Chara…no, no, you’re tricking me it’s ALL A LIE!** ”

 

I shuddered as the Determination surging through us, manifested into the battle screen for one last time. He saw right through through the increasingly solid girl peeking out from behind me.

 

“ **CHARA IS GONE! BUT I CAN BRING HER BACK! SHE PROMISED!** ”

 

“Who promised Asriel?” He shut up shortly after, and I knew what came next.

 

“ **I…It doesn't matter! I’ll just kill you right now!** ” He shuddered with the raw power of GOD, and I let out a deep breath dripping determination from my mouth.

 

A massive wave of light rushed me, and I groaned as I held back the tide of the End. Chara was holding on as her body was lifted by the hypercane level winds battering us down. I threw myself to the side dodging a slice from his Chaos Sabers. He spun, and I blocked an endless tornado of blades and magic. But with with each hit I felt ever more powerful.

 

“ **How!?** ” As Asriel tried to strike another blow, he was knocked away from me with a powerful beam of energy.

 

Is…that a—? Dozens of Gaster blasters surrounded the former flower, and fired. The explosion reverberated across the false and empty air around us. Asriel let out a shout of pain, as dozens fired at once, singing his fur.

 

“I managed to provide the human with a huge source of Determination from my own body. I would explain more but you’re not worth the effort as you are now.” Gaster sounded smug as the prince roared. I felt the power surging into me from Chara’s source of contact, but it seemed oddly small. I shook my head, as the sky rumbled with an incredible aura.

 

Hundreds of blasts of rainbow energy, crashed into the ground around us like blazing meteors. I focused on my hand, a massive spear shuddering between seven colors. I jumped and weaved out of the way as the magical missiles honed in on me. Any I couldn’t dodge I blocked with the spear, sparks flying with each hit.

 

There was a sudden shift in the wind and Asriel had now snuck up behind me. He readied a Chaos Blaster, but instead of having my molecules scrambled I was protected by a wave of blue magic knocking the blaster and the attack off course.

 

“ **Star Blazing!** ” The goat monster screamed in apocalyptic rage and _thousands_ of stars rained down. A green shield protected me, blocking hundreds of falling stars. My need to persevere skyrocketed, I couldn’t lose here.

 

“ **DIE!** ” I felt a red hot pain, as a Chaos Saber sliced a bloody hole through my lower stomach area. I held something _wet_ in my hand that I didn’t want to describe and _time_ seemed to revert itself immediately.

 

I blinked and with a scowl grabbed ahold of Asriel and bounced him around the infinite room with glee. The Gaster blasters didn’t seem able to attack and I frowned.

 

‘Child focus your magic within them and they will come.’ The skulls came to life, emitting purple light and firing wildly. Dozens of beams fought against the continuous rain of stars until the rain faded to a trickle.

 

Asriel rushed me, and I felt my bones nearly crack as a near limitless weight pressed against me. The ground underneath us shattered like glass, and I felt the power in me weaken ever so slightly. He grabbed me by the neck, and knocked me against the hard floor.

 

“S-Shit!” I let out a wet cough, and pain rose up in my chest. I felt a liquid that tasted like iron flood out from my mouth. I lightly touched where it was flooding out from.

 

Blood…I feel something like a liquid filling my lu—

 

_Oh…_

 

My SOUL broke apart again, and I reformed just as quickly as I left.

 

I fought the prince in this space again and again, over and over. I blocked a Saber with my spear, and as Asriel hesitated I let loose a purple punch. The goat kid exploded hundreds of meters back, and I gave a small smirk in response. Waves upon waves of attacks, destroyed my SOUL. I shook my head as I was revived and I continued to fight despite the terrible _fear_ and horror. My borrowed determination brought me back to life each and every time I died, but I could feel the void tugging on to my SOUL.

 

“ **Hah…”**

 

I scowled as I summoned the strange spear again, it’s light had faded and my knees were shaking. I sliced open Asriel’s chest, but the wound closed quickly spilling nothing.

 

“ **You can’t take much more of this can you? Each time you die, this world forgets you more and more.** ” Asriel looked ecstatic and and manifested his Chaos Blaster. I dodged it at the last second, rolling on the ground and avoiding a stomp to the neck. I jumped and even reflected a few beams of energy, then blocked a Chaos slash with the spear.

 

Asriel slashed each time with increasing power and precision and I felt what seemed like a bottomless power start to wane. Even then the crackle of the air was still more than enough warning to dodge the dozens of bolts of lightning spearing the ground with their strikes. But with each follow up attack I could feel the hesitation and weakness within.

 

“You…don’t really want to do this do you Asriel?” He flinched and I dodged under another Chaos Saber. My body was shaking under the exertion and I knew I needed _more_.

 

“You think this will bring her back! Destroying the world will _kill_ her Asriel. You’re being tricked and manipulated like a puppet by a being that doesn’t care.”

 

Oh _god_ that really pissed him off!

 

Why do I keep trying to anger beings so much stronger than me…?

 

“ **SHUUTT UPPP!!** ” He fired off all of his signature attacks at once. I was singed and burned by an endless inferno of fire magic. I was battered and cut by the rain of Star Blazing. Electrocuted and crushed by Shocker Breaker, slashed by the rainbow light of Chaos Saber. I kneeled to the ground narrowly moving out of the way of the open maw of Asriel’s blaster ready to kill me. A second beam fired and I dodged at the last second, the beam giving me a little hair cut.

 

Asriel spun around as Gaster summoned his blasters, evading the beams of evil killing light. Small bite of crystals fell out of the odd goop I was wearing, and they exploded with _incredible_ energy.

 

Fire, Ice, Water, Lightning, Gravity, and Wind fell upon the ascending God like a storm. He was forced to his knees by Nature’s Wrath, and with a roar crushed the stream of nature to a trickle. The prince’s face twisted in rage and he screamed.

 

“ **HYPER GONER!!** ”

 

Oh _god_! I ran backwards avoiding the strange bullets as what felt like the entire universe being swallowed up by the cackling God of Hyperdeath passed me by. I reached for the determination once more and but found nothing left. I turned around to find that Gaster was gasping for air, his body shimmering and unable to give me another boost.

 

“Something is missing, the determination of the three of us should be en—.” He seemed to come to a realization and shook his head.

 

“Chara please…we need your _full_ power.” The Fallen child was shaking, barely able to look her adoptive brother in his raging eyes. “There is more than enough matter in the air to complete the process.”

 

“I…but I don’t des—.” I grabbed her by the head pulling her into a hug, and she froze solid.

 

“Yes you do deserve another chance. If you feel guilty for what you’ve done then _help_ fix it!”

 

I hoped she would take my words to heart, maybe if I talked more?

 

 _“Now_ will you help me protect this world. Will you help us protect all life from destruction. Will you help us _save_ Asriel.” I offered her my hand, waiting patiently.

 

“I…” She trailed off before humming in thought.

 

Asriel Dreemurr was in his final form but _something seemed_ to stop him from slaughtering us. As she watched the angelic being that was once her brother, she closed her fists and started to march toward her brother. With each step, she grew more solid, and the floor gave away to her weight more and more until…

 

A bright light blinded us, and a great wind sent the dreaming prince reeling. With a wave of his hand hundreds of purple comets crashed right into Chara. I felt reverberations across the very fabric of reality as they made contact. I blocked with a shield as countless amounts of bullets were bounced away by an unseen force.

 

The serial murderer took a step back in confusion as the cloud of dust cleared. A pulsing red heart let out a shockwave, and Asriel took another step back in shock as a figure could be seen. In the dust cloud’s place was an orange shield as Chara _blurred_ and with a powerful palm strike broke her brother’s large nose. The 20 foot monster gripped his bleeding sensory receptor, dripping black liquid to the floor.

 

The barely teenager’s body was shining, a thin and fiery aura shifting between red, blue, and orange. The goat monster eyes widened to impossible size, and growled ferally.

 

 **“No…that’s not…** ” Hope seemed to grow in the beings eyes, and he reached out for his adoptive sibling. She smiled gently, but then frowned as the goat started to spasm uncontrollably. The massive monster sunk into the ground, his claws leaving divots in the floor.

 

“ **REAL!!** ” A barrage of red beams fired across the emptiness of the void, and I had to duck out of the way.

 

“I remember…”

 

‘At least a little…’ I recoiled back in shock at what she meant. A teary eyed Chara took even more steps toward her brother. Gaster was smiling and he raised my hand into the air, along with his.

 

“What are you…?” The darkness was replaced by millions of vast tears, and a rippling of Determination made me shiver.

 

“Just wait and see, and get ready to move.” I nodded as Chara let out another shockwave.

 

“I remember now what happened all those Resets ago.” Her brother took a step back, as she walked closer.

 

“I wanted to save you, so we reset as many times as we could. Because I thought, if we could change your fate maybe I could also change mine.” Chara laughed bitterly.

 

“But no matter how many times we tried we failed again and again. The both of us thought that eventually something's got to give. And it did…” Chara was smiling openly now, the happiness clear to see in her bright eyes.

 

“With each good Reset we grew to love everyone more and more, and _I_ already loved you so much. I know that _Demon_ inside you is responsible for so much pain and suffering, but I’m…grateful to her. She made _this_ possible.” Chara waved around the pulsing gateways, each one glowing with every color of the rainbow.

 

“With each Reset I understood just what it meant to be human. All the traits that _can_ change the world.” For a moment, Chara’s SOUL became the color of each soul trait, and I blinked as tears trailed down her face.

 

“We made mistakes and took risks and over time…” Chara trailed off, and let out a bittersweet chuckle. “We learned how to show mercy, how to show love…” I stood up and leaped to her side, and did my best to look calm and serious.

 

I could feel it…

 

This was it…

 

THIS WAS IT!

 

“NO MORE RESETS!” Chara yelled out, and I closed my fist, feeling the power. The strange armor I had slipped off and reformed into Gaster wearing a serious expression.

 

“THIS TIME!” Gaster’s eyes let out beams of red and orange light, hundreds of skeletal hands coming together.

 

“WE END THIS!” I couldn’t help but join in. We _had_ to do this,we had to save everyone.

 

FOR…

 

“THE SAKE OF EVERYONE’S HOPES AND DREAMS!” I closed my eyes remembering that if we lost…

 

That my friends and family would die…that my country would die, that my _world_ would die. I will _never_ let that happen… I pointed my finger at the growing monster, his power multiplying beyond anything ever seen before. I could feel the distant pulse of _whatever_ had set these events in motion lending its power to the monster child.

 

“ _IT’S TIME TO FACE TOMORROW!_ ” We spoke as one to the now mountain sized angel of death. We took flight, swerving around the constant avalanche of red beams and boulder sized comets. From the portals _millions_ of SOULS lended _their_ power, to fight the Demon that had taken control of the countless timelines.

 

“ASRIEL!”

 

The void shifted to an infinite array of colors as every timeline came together to end the cycle of Reset once and for all.

 

We took the leap…

 

***

I bounced up on every crevasse and gap on Asriel’s body, dodging and or parrying each turn of light and rock he was sending to destroy us. The prince flailed as he was attacked by the other SOULS. He was distracted and I could feel the _real_ Asriel fight with all his might to free himself. I was trying to reach out for the SOULS trapped within him while Chara fought him with the power of her SOUL.

 

But I needed to get closer…to help them. The furry mountain I was climbing shook, as massive orange fist smacked right into the monsters solar plexus equivalent. I nearly fell off until a single Red soul lifted me up and with a pulse of blue magic bounced me up right onto Asriel’s shoulders. I paled as Asriel’s bus sized pupil honed in on me. He lifted up his hand to crush me like a bug, and I was paralyzed as that massive paw came down.

 

I heard a loud boom, and then a scream of pain as thunderstorms obscured his eyesight. The elements of nature rained down on the monster, an infinite array of bullets reducing his power with each hit. Entire mountains of earth rose up and he stumbled as they rammed into his vulnerable body. A firestorm forced him to bleat in agony, the magically intense heat beyond his insane pain threshold. Thousand meter spikes of ice, pierced his body keeping him in place. I climbed up higher and ducked under gravitational distortions that warped his altered body. A watery roar warned me of the tsunami pressing down on him, and I swam with the current reaching his chin. Once I reached the top of his head I gestured for Chara to follow. A tornado of SOULS wrapped the monster in a powerful vise and he let out a bout of sun hot fire in frustration.

 

“ **You are only delaying the inevitable.** ” A quiet machine like voice shook the literal mind palace we were in.

 

“ENOUGH!” The voice seemed silent for a moment, and I heard a chuckle of amusement(?).

 

“I DO _NOT_ CARE WHETHER OR NOT _YOU_ THINK WE CAN’T WIN!” I took a deep breath after the rare outburst.

 

“I’m sick and tired of feeling useless. Tired of you thinking you can use us as your playthings for your sick experiment. I’m a soul of Perseverance god damn it, I _should_ act like it!” I galloped right toward Asriel’s face, Chara catching up as the other Determination SOULS slingshot her. I was blinded by by a light and found myself with Chara in a black void, with two large windows letting in light.

 

We were staring through his eyes… The GOD of Hyperdeath was trying to swat the SOULS out of the sky and failing. A spear of orange magic struck him, and the entire SOUL cage shook. We searched around the smaller mindscape and the darkness intensified as we drew away from the two lights.

 

“Where is every—.” Chara ducked under a fire blast, and spun away narrowly avoiding a red trident. I heard flapping as Toriel and Asgore’s respective clothing blew in the weak wind.

 

“This is for your own good.”

 

“I do this for the good of my people.” Both attacked, and I blocked the firestorm with a rippling green shield. It cracked and then exploded but fortunately the volley had ended and it was now our turn. Chara’s leaked tears and ran into the arms of her mother.

 

“Mom please snap out of it, we need to save everyone.” Toriel shivered and I could hear her murmur quietly. I turned to the king and smiled weakly.

 

“King Asgore I’m not gonna hurt you so stop fighting.” I begged him and my smile widened as he stumbled.

 

Chara flipped backwards as her lost mother swiped a fiery arm. I formed another spear, shining a reddish purple only. I swiped the weapon detonating the incoming projectiles. A twist of my hips added momentum and power to the parry of his trident. In the brief interval, I threw his trident away from him, and reached out to him with my hand.

 

“You said you were offering a place in your family and your kingdom right? I’m offering a place for you in _mine._ We need you so we can save _everyone’s_ souls, so we can save your _child’s_ SOUL _._ ” A bright light blinded me, and the strange fiery static covering their faces vanished. I grinned as the King took my offered hand and shook it vigorously.

 

“My golly you’re right.” He turned and his expression shifted into shock at his former wife crying onto his dead child’s shoulders. Both of the women were crying, and he rushed to them with haste. Toriel moved a little back, and Asgore lightly gripped his daughters delicate chin.

 

“You need to go and help the other monsters.” Chara sounded hesitant and both of her parents reluctantly vanished. We went even deeper, and I focused on any _aura_ I could sense. I heard two familiar voices, and gestured Chara to follow.

 

The whistling sound saved my life, and I ducked under a transonic bone attack that had Papyrus written all over it. Chara yelped and ducked backwards, as the signature _bwoom_ of a Gaster blaster missed.

 

There the two bone brothers stood in combat stances, their smiling faces blocked by the static.

 

“just give up. I did.”

 

“I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!”

 

“Don’t give up sans, you’re the one who told me not to, remember!” I shouted out the shorter skeleton while Chara aimed for Papyrus.

 

“You don’t need to capture a human to be great! Why not give your friends a good meal!” Both stumbled, and I narrowly avoided getting my head sliced in half by a death beam. I fell to my knees as I suddenly felt 10 times heavier, as my soul was turned blue. I couldn't help but smirk despite the situation as an idea came to my

 

“Hey don’t _weigh_ us down so much skelebros. The both of you should know the _gravity_ of the situation.” I heard a chuckle from sans and a groan from Papyrus and then sensed the powerful fog lifting from their minds. I jumped over the row of bones, gritting my teeth as I _lifted_ my SOUL up into the air. I rolled around another blast, and Chara cut one in half with a small red knife.

 

“I think the both of you need a break. You need to catch up with Gaster anyway.” Chara smiles not unkindly at her mentor’s children, and in a flash they had returned to their senses.

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT HUMAN! WE HAVE NOT SEEN OUR FATHER IN SO LONG!”

 

“heh. thanks for reminding us. I know you can end this once and for all.” We nodded and as they started to flash away, I pulled the both of them in a hug, lifting the both of them up in the air.

 

“WOWIE! A GENUINE SIGN OF AFFECTION!” I nodded and they faded away with a happy wave.

 

I ignored the smug look on Chara’s face as we searched for the next lost SOUL. Chara then eeped and tackled me, pushing me out of the way of a blue spear. Two spears formed into shields, and we blocked the incoming swarm of spears.

 

“All humans must die!” Undyne boomed as she entered the scenes, her face obscured and her voice filled with righteous fury.

 

“Oh jeez!” Each spear came in faster and faster, and I put more force behind my blocks. I stood my ground and felt a wide smile pull at my lips. Undyne wanted to smile back but couldn’t. I felt tired and my legs and arms hurt a fair bit, and it gave me an idea.

 

“UNDYNE! REMEMBER YOU WANTED TO TRAIN US! OR DID YOU LIE TO US!” Undyne seemed offended, and the static shrunk. She pointed to Chara and dozens of spears struck where she had been. Chara had run off, and while in midair bounced the spears away. She smirked until a spear smashed into her face, and she was thrown down onto the ground. Chara growled and ran towards the fish monster, and cart wheeled over the fray of spears until her turn started.

 

“Undyne…come on FIGHT IT! You’re a good guy, you’re supposed to defeat evil not become it! BE ANIME!” Chara bellowed out with enthusiasm, pumping up our fish sensei.

 

“NNGGAAHHH!” Undyne ripped off the face obstruction with her bare hands, breathing heavily all the while.

 

“I WON’T LET THAT DEMON BITCH WIN! I’M COUNTING ON YOU TWO TO GET THINGS DONE!” I gave her a thumbs up, and she laughed with a “fufufu!”.

 

“Now I’m holding you to those lessons kid!” She faded into particles and nearby sniffling told me our next stop.

 

I felt a tingle as lightning bolts struck me, and shook my head to get my bearings. With a finger gun I blew up the small number of Mini Metta’s rearing to kill us. Chara ran up, and with a high high kick smashed another robot to metal bits.

 

“You must hate me…” Alphys cut in, directing her gaze to Chara.

 

“I don’t hate you Alphys…I could never hate you.” The lizard monster trembled at Chara’s words. Dozens of robots circled around her in a protective sphere and with a wave of blue they were knocked out of the sky.

 

“Heeyyy Alphys…Undyne wants to _kiss_ you!” Alphys flushed and stammered, and I responded with a fist pump in victory as the cloud faded to near nothingness. The bolts felt like mere static shocks, and I giggled as they tickled my body.

 

The fallen child had a harder time, as bombs exploded around her. She swatted then away with a flat knife, or used lasers to prematurely detonate them. She crushed a drone with a violent karate chop, and it split into two even pieces. Chara got a mischievous look on her face and hollered.

 

“HEEYY! Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is better than 1!”

 

“H-HEY NO IT’S…not?” Alphys shook the stars out of her eyes, and the remaining bots dissipated. She stiffened at the look we gave her and chuckled nervously.

 

“Uh hey, and um thank you…”. I gave her a thumbs up, and flash of light followed as she closed her eyes.

 

The void felt empty, but I knew there was still someone else to SAVE. I felt a pang in my heart and felt both fists curl up.

 

 _Two_ SOULS to save in fact…

 

“ **Stop! The experiment is not yet complete!** ” I ignored the alien voice, and nearly tripped on nothing as an image of Asriel’s body getting skull bashed by a massive Gaster blaster flashed through my head.

 

Where is she?

 

Where is she?

 

I felt frantic as we surveyed the area, until I found a strange eldritch darkness. I pointed to the strange goopy area, and Chara nodded, forming a knife for defense. I felt the weight increase, and with no hesitation I grabbed Chara by the stomach and _exploded_ into action. A sonic boom later and we had punched through the black goo.

 

There in the center of the small room, I felt a strange presence and I decided to push it out, since it was giving me a headache. The strange will seemed to give up, and while gripping Chara’s wrist I rushed to the two chained figures.

 

There in her usual tattered blue and purple striped sweater and laying down in a lotus position…

 

Was Frisk…

 

The same fog as everyone else in this prison covered her face _._ Her shaking arms chained down by a strange black metal, with red electrical sparks coming off of them. Asriel was just more of the same, and I could hear him murmur in fear and terror. Chara followed my gaze and nodded, kneeling down to face her brother directly.

 

“Hey Frisk…” I frowned as I tapped her chin, waiting for her to reply, to say _anything._ She tried to pull away but I didn’t let her, first pulling her into a hug.  And then proceeded to tighten my hold on the poor girl. I hissed as red spikes tried to imbed themselves into my skin, my aura taking the hit for me. A sound a lot like glass cracking sounded with each spike, and I took a deep breath as my shield weakened.

 

Chara was a little more active having to dodge small flames, and the occasional vine before tackling the small goat monster to the ground.

 

“I don’t want to go…” Asriel, the _real_ Asriel whimpered in his siblings arms.

 

“Remember who you are Azzy. We were the hopes and dreams of all monsters. We can end this.” One black chain loosened and then fell, the invasive fuzz of his mind weakening.

 

I felt a stronger pang in my chest looking at the state of the young girl.

 

“Frisk please don’t _leaf_ me alone.” I grinned weakly at Frisk’s weak but amused giggle, and then ruffled her matted hair response. Her next wave of attacks felt nearly painless, like a little bee sting rather than being stabbed by a hatchet.

 

“HEEYY Pacifrisk, can you wake up for me please? I…don’t want you to go.” I heard a weak sniffle as my grip tightened. “Stay Determined, you still have _someone_ to visit don’t you? We have to get out of here, we have to go… _home._ ” I felt a pulse and then a _crack_ as the chains were torn apart.

 

“Brandon…” She looked up to with tears running down her face, and she collapsed into a sobbing mess.

 

“I…it _hurt!_ It was s-scary! The voices…the _screams_ …I want to go home!” She blubbered and I felt a shiver run down my spine. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be _anywhere_ near that abomination.

 

“And we can do that right now.” We turned to face a guilty looking Asriel holding hands with Chara.

 

“ **I won’t let you!** ” The SOUL trap broke as the mountain sized God of Hyperdeath collapsed. We hit the black ground hard, and I rubbed my sore rear. I could hear the confused chattering of what felt like millions of monster and humans coming together in a cacophony of sound. I felt a pull on my SOUL and resisted with all my remaining strength. Out in the vast distance I could see hundreds, thousands, no _millions_ of end antagonists fighting against the tide, and the pull started to taper off. Asriel reached for my hand, and with some trepidation I decided to lend him my SOUL. However a small _plop_ heralded the fall of a _familiar_ shape into this dimension.

 

“What in god's name is that thing?”

 

Red…

 

The black shape in the distance rippled with lightning, but instead of an awesome battle it merely stopped and made way to leave.

 

“ **Timeline Experiment is a failure…we will find another way.** ”

 

A powerful suction sound started to pull us in, and I flailed as my feet left the ground. All the Monsters of our timeline held onto each other as a white portal consumed them one by one. Gaster had softened the speed with his magic, and soon I only knew _light_.

 

…

…

 

I felt a warm sensation gently caress my body and murmured as _nine_ other voices joined me.

 

“Wake up!” A furry paw smacked me in the face and I lashed out in irritated anger. A small feminine hand stopped me, and my eyes opened wide in shock.

 

We were back in the original  black void with only Asriel, Chara, Gaster, me and _something_ else within it. I shuddered as what felt like spacetime itself snapped back into place, the countless parallel world’s cut off for the time being. I realized I wasn’t lying on the ground, I was instead in a lazy orbit around the prince.

 

“Howdy!” Asriel waved, looking mighty _goat_ ish at my glare. 7 glowing lights started to materialize around the young goat like monster, and I jolted as a Purple Heart brushed me by.

 

“Is…is it over?” Asriel thumbed behind himself toward the odd pressure.

 

“ _It_ wants to talk with you.” I scowled as a red eye gave me a spotlight. The god like power it once possessed seemed almost entirely absent, though it was still far stronger than any individual human or monster.

 

“ **You have only delayed what is coming…** ” I raised an eyebrow, and I marvelled at the sudden pair of gonads I had, willing to stare down in the face of a _god._

 

“I still have this weird feeling that we _can_ win.” I felt a little queasy as a dark and bitter chuckle echoed across the room.

 

“ **Perhaps you can human…I look forward to seeing what your kind will bring to a battle that has raged for an entire stellar lifespan.** ”

 

“You can leave now…” Only Chara would dismissively shoo away a mountain sized mass murderer. The shadow slowly faded away into dust and ashes, it’s eye focused on us for a final time.

 

“ **We’ll meet again.** ” The cloud vanished and I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

A strong wind started to pick up, as the floating SOULS spun around the sole monster at a faster and faster pace. I flinched as a resounding crack created a constant shaking in the chamber.

 

_—Final Power—_

 

I could feel…the barrier was folding in itself, as a power _greater_ than seven SOULS rammed into it.

 

Asriel gave us a sad and weak smile, and Chara looked frightened.

 

“Don’t worry about me Chara…I’ll be okay. I think…this time I can finally be healed. I can feel the love and compassion of everyone in the Underground, and I can feel a piece of my SOUL I thought lost.” Thousands of monster SOULS joined us and a felt a crescendo of desperate voices, I even heard my own sing by their side.

 

“So now…let me set Monsterkind free for the last time.”

 

The assault on the barrier started to break another great power and I smiled as I slowly fell into unconsciousness. The same story repeated itself a million times, and I knew the threat of this power would no longer exist.

 

**RESET**

 

Another crack as the power of a GOD slowly dissipated into nothingness.

 

***ESET**

 

_BANG!_

 

**~~**SET~~ **

 

_BWOOM!_

 

**~~*****~~ **

 

***The barrier was destroyed***

 

…

 

…

  
“ _Wake up! This is all just a bad dream…! Please wake up…!_ ”

 


	11. Chapter Ten: Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter that I hope you enjoy. Please tell me what you think.

**Chapter Ten: Respite**

Guh…? Who the hell is hell is dripping water droplets on my face?

 

I… _wait?_

 

FRISK!

 

I bolted upwards, ignoring the weak sound of pain to my right as I banged my shoulder against someone. My vision was blurry and I felt a yawn come up for a moment before suppressing it. I had to run my eyes a few times to readjust my vision to the relative darkness.

 

“Owwie.” To my right and my utter embarrassment I had _incidentally_ hurt Frisk when I woke up like I did. She was rubbing her head with her right hand, and wiping away snot and tears with her left.

 

“Huh!” Frisk screeched as I crushed her under a…

 

When did I move? Whatever it doesn't matter…

 

“Are you okay?” She opened her mouth to reply but I spoke over her, unable to stop my worried chatter. I grabbed her chin, checking for injuries.

 

“You’re not hurt right?” I asked with a soft tone. “You hungry? Do you need something to drink? Are you coming down with something? Maybe a hug?” Frisk gave me a blank expression that shifted into a soft smile.

 

“You’re already hugging me remember.” I looked down to find that my arms had already tightly wrapped around her.

 

“Oh…”

 

“Ahh that’s _adorable!_ ” I flushed and stiffly threw my arms down to my side as I realize that _everyone_ was here.

 

“Oh god _noo_.” Both Toriel and Alphys had their hands on their cheeks as they blatantly stared at the scene. Chara was snickering in the back with sans, while Papyrus only smiled. I wobbled onto my feet, and nearly tripped until a familiar bony hand caught me by the scruff of my neck.

 

“Child, this is no place to trip.” I brushed off some dust as I got my balance on the cracked and weathered stone underneath me. I had never seen Gaster as happy as he was in that moment. It seemed like a huge weight had fallen off his shoulders, and he was visibly relaxed.

 

“You have been asleep for some time young man.” Asgore’s deep voice broke in to the conversation much to Toriel’s irritation, though she managed to keep herself from voicing that opinion. I coughed and did my best to keep my composure after all that.

 

My nose scrunched up as the air started to taste differently; it seems more… _fresh_ and just a little salty.

 

“Is…that outside air?” I asked myself since the air here had been a little stagnant and tasteless.

 

“Hah almost certainly! I would recognize that scent anywhere.” Red replied with a high-pitched bark.

 

“T-That would mean—?” Alphys became decolored at the idea in her mind.

 

“The Barrier is gone…” I couldn’t help but smile at the happy faces on the poor monsters.

 

They were finally free…

 

“SO…WHAT NOW?” Papyrus asked with a scratch of his skull and I hummed in response. I heard loud footsteps as Asgore rapidly approached me, he placed his hand on my shoulder and looked at me in desperation.

 

“Um…”

 

“Do you know where _he_ is?”

 

Oh…

 

I sighed and rubbed the back of my sore neck, before pointing to back where we had come from.

 

“Follow me.”

 

***

It had taken a great deal of time to walk back, because sans had been rather busy with getting the monsters ready to leave the Underground. He was also working on shutting down the CORE; the old generator was too damaged to be used any longer. There would still be power for at least another month, more than enough time for the monsters to escape outside and build up a settlement

 

There tending to the golden flowers was the small form of Asriel Dreemurr. Now that everything was calm, I could see how short he really was, nearly half a foot shorter than Frisk and Chara. Only his parents, Gaster, Chara, and Frisk had followed along, the others having had some packing to do.

 

“ _Asriel…_ ” Asgore’s breath was short and he kneeled down to the ground in shock. The goat kid was quiet, only acknowledging his father and mother with a nod. I reeled back in shock at 4 glowing lights that orbited around the small child.

 

4 of the six human SOULS fluttered happily in the air, with the purple and justice SOULS both missing. Asriel closed his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning to face his parents.

 

“Hey dad, mom, long time no see.” Both of his parents crashed into him, and I pursed my lips as Toriel let out a wail of relief. Frisk looked decidedly uncomfortable at the sight of the goat mom crying. Chara kept to the side, not joining in on the familial hug. Gaster had started to gather some strange grey material from the surrounding golden flower spot and sealing it away into a bottle.

 

D-Dust? Gaster gave me a shush motion and I hesitantly followed his silent instruction.

 

“I how is this…possible it shouldn’t be?!” Toriel was confused and afraid to know the answer. Her son’s expression darkened and he twisted his face away from their gazes.

 

“It’s a long story…” Asriel didn’t elaborate any further.

 

“Please don’t shut us out.” Toriel begged her son, and he gave us a look. It took me a few seconds to understand what he meant, and I gently pulled Frisk away from the room, leaving the family to reconcile.

 

A couple of silent and awkward minutes passed with only a few murmurings here and there. Frisk had started to rub her hands together, her nerves clearly getting to her until I placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped rubbing her hands and steadied her breathing.

 

“Um you okay?” She nodded and clasped her hands closer together.

 

I wasn’t sure how to feel about her anymore… I felt weirdly protective of her and cared for her overall well-being(?). That’s normal right? I wanted to see her grow up and mature that’s all…

 

Frisk tugged on my shirt and I flushed as she drew close, opening up her arms in a beckoning motion. She tilted her head, and her lips turned up into a wide and happy smile. Her eyes seemed to sparkle like little purple gems and…

 

Did…my heart just skip a beat?

 

Frisk was waiting with her arms outstretched and she pouted as I froze up, begging for affection. I lifted up my arms, and with surprising ease picked up the rather light girl.

 

“Yay!” The young girl laughed and I almost stumbled as she clung on to my back after some readjustment.

 

“Are you going to be doing that a lot?” I asked with bemusement. She gave a thumbs up, and with a flirty look opened her mouth. However whatever she was going to say was lost as she loudly yawned.

 

“You tired?” She nodded, and curled into the back of my neck.

 

Strange girl, and based on those heavy footsteps the Dreemurr families little talk is over. Both the adults seemed a little shell-shocked and disappointed in themselves (?). Chara had walked over, and once she got within arms reach tripped over a rock.

 

“Oof!” I sneezed as a piece of dust drifted into my nose, while Frisk giggled with mirth. A red Chara picked herself up, and glared at the laughing girl. They were now nose to nose, and Frisk looked even more flirtatious than before.

 

“H-Heh. I guess you could say…”

 

“Please no.”

 

“You’ve _fallen_ for me.”

 

“Frisk no!” Frisk waggled her eyebrows and threw her head forward, giving the older girl a kiss on the forehead.

 

I had never seen a human change color so fast…the former princess had gone as stiff as a board and I swear I heard her inner screaming. Both her parents had knowing looks but said nothing and left the room. Chara  was currently pacing in circles, slowly cutting small divots in the ground, in embarrassed frustration.

 

“Hey.” I turned to face Asriel leaning against the entrance to the start of the Ruins, his ears twitching in amusement, as I felt Frisk slide off and chase after Chara.

 

“What’s up?” I greeted him with a slight twinge of pain in my chest. The four souls were circling like buzzards over our heads, and the kid was nodding as the souls whispered.

 

“I’m sorry.” The child bowed and I sweat drop in awkwardness at the gesture. “I _hurt_ you so badly and I _feel_ terrible.”

 

“It’s fine…I’ll probably have nightmares for the rest of my life but…”

 

That…is not very comforting. I really need to work on being less morbid, but then again I’ve never been the most optimistic person.

 

“Yeah…sorry again.” Asriel glanced away, and I frowned as he rubbed at one of his eyes with a sniffle.

 

“You’re…not okay are you.” The small goat gave me a glare out of the corner of his eye.

 

“ _Oh_ what gave you that idea.”

 

“Sarcasm huh, I would say that’s new coming from you. _But_ then again I do not know you that well.” I replied to the prince with a small smirk on my face.

 

“Hmm…” Asriel slumped a bit.

 

“Something on your mind?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I’m going to turn into a flower again.”

 

_Oh._

 

“Um keep going.” He squinted his eyes at me, but then he shrugged.

 

“I’m going to stay behind because I can’t trust myself not to hurt anyone yet. The only hope I have to stay myself is the small part of my SOUL I still have and Gaster’s new project.”

 

“Project?”

 

“He thinks it might be possible to reconstruct my body by gathering up my remaining Dust and using his Artifice creator plus the human SOULS to repair my SOUL.”

 

Huh…neat.

 

“A part of me thinks I _don’t_ deserve a happy ending. But there’s also a feeling inside of me that’s telling me that _something_ is coming.” I frowned at the ominous statement from the prince of the Underground. The child turned away, walking back toward the entrance

 

“Before you leave can you promise me something?” I nodded solemnly to his request.

 

“While I’m gone…keep them safe for me okay.”

 

“Of course…”

 

***

Soon after we started walking back to New Home. Occasionally stopping to talk with a few monsters on the way. I had never seen so many smiling faces before…after a thousands years the monsters were now free to explore the world above their heads.

 

The evidence of them moving was clearer to see, with hundreds of boxes of packed belongings or food. In Snowdin they were working on lifting their homes out of their foundations and taking the houses _with_ them. The CORE had started to cool down as well, the plasma that obscured the floor had begun to dissipate and pieces of machinery had been taken out. Mettaton’s set had been torn down and packed up for future use too.

 

Also turns out that Frisk knows Burgerpants… apparently she had woken up the one night we stayed, and gone downstairs to tire herself out. She had a nice, _long_ conversation about not trusting attractive people, as well as getting a chance to mutually complain about the disgusting food.

 

There were a few incidents with some monsters here and there, not the violent kind thankfully.

 

Muffet is weird…

 

But regardless of that, we were finally at the Apex of this journey and the beginning of the next one. There was some muffled shuffling as our monsters friends followed after us, while we idled around the Exit.

 

Humans and monsters standing side by side clamoring for freedom from an endless time loop.

 

‘I guess it’s time Gaster’

 

Only silence followed and I remembered that the skeleton could no longer hear me, the connection having been broken apart after Reset was torn to pieces.

 

“Are you ready?” I asked everybody, my own nervousness boiling over. They all nodded and I took a step forward.

 

Then another…

 

And another…

 

And another…until a bright light started to shine, blinding me for a moment. I could feel a cool breeze brush along my skin, and sunlight radiate downward.

 

We were outside…

 

_—Respite(Orchestral Cover)—_

 

The sun was rising over the vast inland sea of Puget Sound. In fact glimmering off in the distance was the ancient city from what felt like so long ago. There was another mountain rising in the distance, well more of a small hill really but still. There was a vast forest below, a mix of tall redwoods and sequoia, along with a myriad of other species. A distant chirping and calls of strange birds filled the silence. I tapped the ground, feeling the moist and rich soil.

 

It was one of the most amazing and beautiful sights I had ever seen.

 

“O-Oh my.” Toriel gasped in awe.

 

“Isn’t it beautiful, everyone?” I nodded in agreement to the king. I had never taken the time to appreciate nature from up close but this…could not be denied.

 

“W-Wow it’s better than I could ever have imagined!”

 

“You guys _lived_ with this!? The sunlight feels great, and the air feels so fresh! I feel stronger than ever!”

 

“HEY SANS…WHAT’S THAT GIANT BALL?” sans smirked, his eyes lighting up in a pure joy I had never witnessed from him.

 

“we call that the ‘the sun’ my friend.”

 

“WOWIE! IT’S SO BRIGHT TO LOOK AT! DESPITE THIS PAINFUL SETBACK I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M MEETING THE SUN!”

 

Good old Papyrus…

 

_“I could stand here and watch this for hours…_ ” I coughed as Gaster and Asgore replied at the same time. I heard the scientist whisper in the king's, the goat monster’s ears tucking in at whatever the skeleton said.

 

“Yes that is true…but we need to think about what comes next.” Toriel brought the two men back on track and they quietly agreed with her. The King cleared his throat and turned to a star struck Frisk and I.

 

“This is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters.” Frisk nodded with a small kernel of hope in her heart. “There is something I must ask of you.”

 

“Y-Yes?” Frisk sounded a little nervous, and Chara smirked knowingly.

 

“Will you act as our ambassador to the beings of the surface.” Red squawked in shock, but there was also a note of familiarity within that sound. Frisk turned to me, and I shrugged unsure of _what_ she would actually be doing being only 12. She thought about it for a moment before nodding with determination.

 

“FRISK WILL MAKE AN AWESOME AMBASSADOR! AND I! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL BE THE BEST MASCOT!” I shook my head in amusement at the outburst from the slightly older skeleton.

 

“IN FACT…I’M GOING TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION RIGHT NOW!” The skeleton sped downhill leaving us in his dust.

 

“Probably should go after him, the townsfolk _probably_ won’t hurt him, but that doesn't protect him from the wildlife around here.” Red mentioned with a hint of worry.

 

“welp that’s my cue to leave if that’s the case.” Red nuzzled Frisk for a moment before following sans in the _opposite_ direction.

 

“see you/ _goodbye._ ” The monster and dromaeosaurid were gone…

 

“Man do I have to do everything myself? Papyrus wait up!!!” I winced as the ground was crushed underneath her feet.

 

“Undyne!!”

 

_And_ there goes Alphys. Now there was only five.

 

“Uh should I do something?”

 

“…” Was all that Toriel needed for Asgore to scamper away, and with a tilt of her head Chara followed after her father in seeming worry.

 

“It seems everyone is eager to leave my Queen.” Toriel let out a mirthful laughter in reply

 

“Indeed they are…they have not seen the surface for their entire lives. This is a unique experience for them.” She smiled gently and did not react as Gaster’s shoulders started to shake uncontrollably, as his eyes seemed to flood with tears.

 

“I-It’s been so long since I’ve seen such beauty I…” Gaster broke down in quiet sobs, and after a minute calmed his breath. Toriel let the old scientists have his moment and then turned to us.

 

“You both came from this world did you not?” Frisk nodded while I shrugged in reply. She looked uncertain at how she wanted to talk. “You…must have some place to go back to do you not?”

 

Frisk only gazed down at the distant town forlornly and shook her head. Toriel looked surprised and slightly disturbed but hid it under a comforting smile. I didn’t know how to reply, I had a family and a home to go back to, but I had to travel millions of light years to do it.

 

“What…will you do now?”

 

I thought about my answer for a long while.

 

I could choose to leave, explore this new world and find a gateway that could send me home. I could stay and just hope that a portal home would open up somewhere nearby one day. That could takes years or even decades for an event like that to happen, or maybe it never will.

 

Frisk smiled gently up at me, and I knew either of the two options were a mistake. I turned back to face Toriel, and Gaster perked up just a bit.

 

“I think I’ll stay, but I can’t be completely sedentary anymore… I _need_ to find or _make_ a way back home.” Frisk sounded worried and I did my best to reassure her.

 

“I’m not going anywhere just yet Frisk. I want you to meet my family anyway, I _can’t_ just leave you behind, and I won’t. I promise…” I huffed as Frisk wrapped her arms around me in thanks(?).

 

“You’re an affectionate little bugger aren’t you?” I couldn’t help but ask, and Frisk only lifted up her grin with her fingers in an oddly familiar gesture.

 

“I’m a birdy not a bugger.” Her cheeky grin was her only explanation. She fully let go and turned to face Toriel.

 

“I think you know the answer Goat mom.” Toriel looked happier than I had ever seen her before.

 

“Of course my child…”

 

“Hey wait!” I was flustered as Frisk started to pull me and Toriel by the hands, with Gaster jogging behind as we ran downhill.

 

“P-Please slow down…”

 

While we ran, I hopefully looked up to the glowing gates in the sky. I hoped that they would hold the key to going home, to seeing them again.

 

“Wait watch out for that roc—oh no CLIFF!”

 

***

 

After that _minor_ collision between a cliffside and my face, we had _slowly_ drifted down to the foothills. Gaster was acting as a sentry, watching out for anything potentially dangerous.

 

Us few monsters and humans were wandering down into the vast forest with relative ease. I had the most issues with it however, since I kept tripping on roots, and it didn’t help that my cloak was torn up and letting in the cold.

 

Seriously I’m a Southern California resident I _hate_ the damn cold with a burning passion. It was incredibly humid as well, which was probably why there was an abundance of massive trees.

 

“HUMAN!”

 

“Huh?” I replied dumbly as Papyrus stared at me with question, brushing his hands against the thick bark of a massive tree.

 

“WHAT KIND OF TREE IS THAT!?” I was happy to answer his simple question.

 

“I believe that’s a Redwood a very tall evergreen species related to Pines trees. They’re pretty cool aren’t they?”

 

I couldn’t help but look up in awe, at the tree the skeleton was patting. It had to be just over 400 feet tall, trouncing the previous record by multiple feet. It was almost as wide as a dang school bus, and for a fleeting moment I felt a little worried that it would fall down and crush me.

 

“That’s… _dang_ there must be thousands of the suckers in this forest aren’t there?” Undyne whistled at the lovely view, as sunlight shimmered down from the treetops above.

 

“Y-You seem to know quite a lot of facts don’t you?” Alphys observed me and I nodded with a small smile.

 

“Well yeah I want to be a scientist you know. It was what I was planning to do after High School.”

 

“What field?” The lizard lady sounded curious and I smirked.

 

“Probably somewhere in Bioengineering, I wanted to go in to genetic engineering. Go to community college, transfer to a UC, I was aiming for a PhD too.” I sighed as brushed my foot against the bramble underneath our feet.

 

“Guess I won’t get that chance now.”

 

“Perhaps I can help you with that, we can find some Books and recordings of courses from this word. Their technology must be decades ahead, you could pass that knowledge to your world once we can find a gateway.” Gaster offered his help, cheering me up just a little.

 

“That _would_ be nice…”

 

Before I could say anything else I felt a tingle as an aggressive _boom_ shook the trees just the slightest. I could hear loud breathing too, as something _enormous_ circled around us with predatory leanings. From a moderately sized conifer tree, a _certain_ super predator had popped out from hiding. The 40 foot length Errosaurid chuffed in confusion, while she was sniffing Alphys and the skeletons.

 

Her eyes narrowed in familiarity, and I hoped to _whatever_ that she wouldn’t think Alphys would make a good snack.

 

“W-What is that?” Alphys harshly whispered as a reptilian huff dropped her to the ground.

 

“Errosaurus Gigantis, a _unique_ species of top predator found near the various Estuaries in this state.” The huge being turned her predatory gaze to me and I went stock still under that terrible gaze.

 

Answering her was a terrible mistake…

 

“Chara…just what are you doing?” I turned my head slowly to find Frisk looking on in bewilderment as Chara grabbed several fallen leafy branches and pretended to be a bush.

 

“M-Maybe if we stand perfectly still, she can’t see us.” Chara whispered with a broken expression on her face. For a moment I thought I saw the Tyrannosaur roll her eyes, but I couldn’t be sure.

 

“HELLO THERE STRANGE GIANT! DID YOU COME TO GREET THE GREAT PAPYRUS?! ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH FRISK AND RED!?” The predator actually backed away in shock, letting loose a low squawk like sound in confusion. It rumbled shaking the naive skeleton with the powerful vibrations.

 

“W-WHY A-AM I-I V-VIBRATING?” Papyrus rattled loudly slowly pushing him away from the irate archosaur. The intelligent animal seemed to finally grow bored of our antics, and let loose a deep bellow. There was a brief blur as it’s jaws snapped, and Alphys yelped as a 5 foot long head narrowly missed her face.

 

“Why I ought a!” Undyne summoned a blue spear, and was inches away from throwing it until the fluffy monster froze and tilted its head to listen. I followed a glimpse of circling fluffy animals. They were fast; Red began to perk up and was now chittering back in his native language. A strange mix of whistles, chirps, hisses and human like words was thrown back and forth between the circling pack and our resident raptor.

 

Whatever had surrounded us, blended into the forest with ease, I could only see brief flashes of sickle-toed feet, and their bright eyes. A loud chuff then signaled the retreat of the massive cursorial predator, not making nary a sound, a terrifying prospect to be sure.

 

A loud caw acted as a command, and the blurs stopped their circling revealing just what they were. A pack of odd man sized raptors were now idling, chatting with their smaller relative in their bird like language. Frisk was starry eyed, zipping between the feathered theropods with surprising energy. There were around 12 of them outnumbering us handedly. They sort of resemble a lighter built Dakotaraptor with some noticeable differences upon closer inspection.

 

Their wings were a fair bit smaller and thinner, their hands were more prominent, and they seemed to have thumbs(?) When they opened their jaws, I could see at least two or three different teeth types, meaning they were likely omnivorous too. They also wore some kind of harness that held various tools, weapons and goods. Most were red or black feathered, resembling crows in coloration. Now that I think about it, Red might be either a case of dwarfism or a very closely related subspecies to these guys.

 

They talked amongst themselves for a moment with only Frisk, Red, and Gaster able to follow along. I flinched as one of them leaped, stopping their huge maw just short of my nose. I met their amber eyes with calmness and a bit of awe. The new raptor was a stark white color. The possible omnivore wore a wooden mask over their face that seemed to be mimicking a Tyrannosaur face.

 

I clenched my fists, as the raptor slowly pulled something from a sack. It grabbed my wrist and turned my hand, palm facing up.

 

“Oh…”

 

They had dropped a chocolate bar without a wrapping in my hand… I greedily ate it all, once my stomach growled.

 

“Why would you eat that?!” Chara harshly whispered and I flushed at the desperate act.

 

“Haha! It seems everything is going fine here!”

 

Wait what?

 

From up above a few humans had been clinging up in the tall trees. They were dressed in clothing that blended in, and I couldn’t discern their faces. The White One chattered irritably and gave me a respectful shoulder bump before returning to their pack. One human clambered down, revealing herself to be an older women of Native American origin. She was _puny_ though only about as tall as Chara if heavier, not that I would tell her that to her face.

 

I was shaken out of my stupor as she reached for my hand and shook it fiercely rocking my whole body.

 

“Hello there friend.” She continued to shake my hand, and I squeezed back unintentionally.

 

“Uh…hi?” The brunette smiled, revealing old laugh lines. She turned to face the monsters with a surprisingly kind smile and waved them forward. She pointed to Asgore and he stopped just short of her feet, illustrating the sheer height difference.

 

“How curious, that the old one has brought some new friends to this place.” Red glowered and let out a weak hiss.

 

“It’s been a long time, how are the Karuk doing after all those years?” Red inquires with curiosity.

 

She shrugged with her hands in the air. “We number almost 36,000 now, better than before that certain cluster-fu—.” She stopped at the look on Toriel’s face.

 

Frisk yawned, covering it up with the back of her hand.

 

“You getting sleepy?” I asked with a little mirth.

 

“Monster…” We were interrupted by the seriousness of the middle age women’s tone. Asgore turned his gaze to her, and she slowly lifted up her gloved hand. He took it and they both finely shook each other’s hand.

 

“I welcome you to the Surface…”

 

In that moment the sun felt just a little brighter.

 

…

 

…

 

I was standing in the middle of the doorway to Frisk’s room. The Karuk as they called themselves had been nicer to the monsters than I could ever have imagined. They had been the first to feel the outburst of magic from the mountain, and came running. We had essentially acted as a diplomatic party to the city-state as well as the numerous small villages and towns under their flag. They had allowed the monsters to build in, or fix up another nearby city that had been buried under the forest until the monsters moved the plant life elsewhere.

 

As to to _how_ they did that, the answer is obvious.

 

_Mmagic!_

 

The monster population utterly dwarfed anything and everything within a literal thousand miles, making negotiations more equal. The humans warmed up pretty quickly and within a week, there was a regular interchange of monsters, humans and raptors, who were apparently called Draks(?). Mettaton has become _absurdly_ popular among the humans, who had soaked up his personality like a sponge to water.

 

His exuberance and energy made them happy, in a world broken by war and short sightedness. Toriel was working on a teaching degree, and there were plans to make cospecies primary, secondary and post-secondary schools. Undyne remained a Royal Guard, but it had been reformed into a police force, using some old training videos for police academies before the fall. Papyrus even got his guardsmen position like he wanted after all this time. Both Alphys and Gaster were no longer Royal Scientist for _obvious_ reasons.

 

They were still working on projects of course, mainly on CORE miniaturization, Asriel, Aura Crystals, and getting me home. Asgore was still King but he was working to reform the Kingdom into a more democratic form of government or at the very least, creating a more even share of power. It would reduce the burden on his shoulder, so he could finally rest.

 

Everything wa—

 

“Stop talking to yourself.” Frisk admonished from all the way in her bed, snuggling right into her blanket and cinnamon bun plush.

 

“Sorry Frisk…” She forgave me easily and made a heart shape with her hands. I felt touched, and warmth rose up to my cheeks.

 

“You going to say goodnight while Tori is out.” I nodded with a stronger flush and she smiled sleepily. She beckoned me forward and with a small sigh, I sat on her bed. Frisk patted me to get more attention, and then gestured with her hand, telling me to come closer. I leaned in, and she _pounced_ landing a kiss on my forehead. I didn’t react, already used to her almost daily attacks, _Chara_ definitely didn’t get used to it, and I thank whatever brought me here for letting me keep my phone.

 

“Are you okay?” I sagged at Frisk’s question, and nodded leaning against the headboard of her bed.

 

“I’m just still a little…overwhelmed you know. This all.” I gestured to our surroundings. “Doesn’t feel like it's _real_.”

 

“Oh…I get it. This is all pretty weird isn’t it?” Frisk agreed, looking up at the fake stars glowing faintly on her ceiling.

 

“But despite all the weird and occasionally terrifying stuff we’ve faced I’m still glad I met you.” Frisk flushed a bit at my reply, and grinned weakly.

 

She was a good kid…

 

“Me too…” I ruffled her now well kept hair and she leaned in just the slightest. Frisk opened her mouth to say something, but yawned _loudly._

 

“Well…kiddo I think it’s time for _you_ to go to bed.” She pouted but a single stare from me was enough to get her to stop. She snuggled into her blankets, and laid her head down on the feather stuffed pillow.

 

“Ok…” I smiled and patted her head for a few seconds before getting up to leave.

 

“Goodnight Frisk.”

 

“Goodnight.” Frisk grew more slurred as sleep slowly claimed her. Just before I gently closed the door however…

 

“I…love you.”

 

I froze…unsure of what to say or do, and murmured a quiet reply back. I shut the door and listened in, Frisk’s snores breaking through the silence.

 

“ _Greetings_.” I grumbled as both Chara and Toriel greeted me, having gone to a human store to buy human food.

 

“So Frisk has fallen asleep then?” I nodded, and the huge female monster tiptoed to the door with a pie in hand. Chara yawned and her retreating footsteps echoed away. A light slam-indicating Chara going to her room. Heavier footsteps then alerted me to a quiet Toriel, having given Frisk her pie.

 

“Are you…?” I waved her off, assuring her that I was doing okay.

 

“If there’s anything you want to talk about I’m here.” I shook my head, and decided to step outside.

 

“I’ll be okay. I’ll be back in a bit. I just need a little break is all.” Toriel waved goodbye with some uncertainty, and I gave her a smile before stepping out into the cold night.

 

I shivered as a light sea breeze hit me, and sat on a wooden bench that had been put up by Papyrus. I removed a single tiny bone and threw it into the waste bucket next to the seat and sighed.

 

Everything was quiet now, no monsters moving in, and no humans nervous or fearful of monsters. Just a quiet night, getting to look at the brightest and clearest sky in the entire world. There were no clouds to obscure my view of the night sky; thousands of stars were visible forming a cloud. The sky looked so much like my own, with only minor differences from stellar drift, plus some _other_ changes. There were several dim smudges in the sky, looking a lot like Andromeda, if a little brighter. I could see the two of them, on opposite ends of the lit up blackness, each accompanied by dimmer neighbors.

 

I gazed at the left one with longing, remembering what Gaster had told me. That those galaxies were the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, from over a million and 3.5 million light years away. I wasn’t sure which was mine, but the left one just felt right.

 

I _knew_ it in my bones, that I would find a way home. But…everything would be different now. I wasn’t the exact same person I was, when I came to this place. And it wouldn’t change that this peace wouldn’t last forever, Asriel was right. I had my own bad feelings about this moment in time.

 

My eyes glimmered as a slow moving shooting star passed by, illuminating the darkness.

 

I guess…for now I could enjoy this respite while I had the chance…

 

It was just unfortunate that I had much less time than I thought I did.

 

***

A strange metal ship reeled as they found themselves transported to an unknown system. Alarms rung, as it’s thrusters forcefully activated stabilizing its orbit. It’s engines lit up, alerting anyone with eyes to see the blaze of energy and thrust. The craft then shuddered as something artificial crashed into its weakened shields.

 

“ **Dimensional Anomaly! Dimensional Anomaly! Dimensional Anomaly** ” The alarm bleated to the comms, annoying a single inhabitant. They were only a large blob from under a grey blanket, until the covers were thrown off revealing an irate human woman. The human grumbled under breath as she stomped toward the metallic door of her room. She grumbled some more and decided to turn left to the open bathroom to clean up. The barely adult women grabbed an orange wristband that came to life to form a hologram like surface.

 

She then stared tiredly into a mirror inspecting herself. Her reflection showed an olive complexion and bright green eyes betraying her mid eastern origin. The girls face was oval shaped, and her full lips curled into a small smile, as her straight nose twitched with a sneeze. Around 6’4 in height and and possessing a naturally curvy and very athletic build from regular exercise. She wore a loose black tank top, which contrasted, with her pink bunny pajama pants.

 

“Looking good…” She muttered under her breath, and pulled out a brush from a cabinet. The young women brushed her long wavy dark hair with force, removing the various knots formed during her sleep. The uncouth mane was a dark black that then shifted to red at the tips. Before she could continue, her strange device started to ring, and she growled with annoyance. A quick press and the simulated click of a phone sounded in.

 

_Who in the hell is calling me?!_

 

“Yello?”

 

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!” A deep and guttural voice screamed through the device and the brunette winced.

 

“H-Hey calm down…”

 

“DON’T YOU _DARE_ TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” The voice on the other line took a deep breath and sighed.

 

“How could you _not_ notice the alarms!?” The likely male on the other end asked.

 

“Alarms?” Another sigh made the unknown girl frown and she looked sorry.

 

“Balak…there’s been…some news.” Another whinier voice broke in, taking deep breaths every once in a while. “The energy core has taken some damage, but a few hours should be enough to fix it.”

 

“What about our coordinates, just where are we?” The woman shrugged and during the litany and back and forth between the two voices she got ready. Brushing her teeth, and changing her clothes to something…more suitable. Replacing her ratty tank top with a blue t-shirt, and her pajamas for beige cargo shorts. _I do wonder what’s happening._

  


“We…don’t recognize any systems, except for this one and it must… be an error.” Once she was finished changing, the girl turned on heels and started jogging. The mechanical entrance _whooshed_ open, and the human ran through the halls, narrowly avoiding the confused and busy crew. She ran the length of the 140 meter starship within a minute, bursting through the doors of the command center of the repurposed military vessel.

 

4 Black pupils less eyes blinked as the humans blue sneakers screeched on the metal floor. Gripping his plush and vaguely phallus shaped chair, was a _very_ frustrated alien lifeform. He wore a black trench coat, covering up the red armor serving as protection. His harsh glare softened at the confused expression of his charge’s face.

 

“Amira…”

 

“Balak…”

 

“Balak…” They both turned to the short stout alien, wearing a ball shaped environmental suit. He looked a tad sheepish and let out a raspy breath.

 

“Sorry…thought you were…doing a thing.” The diminutive methane based life form sounded apologetic and butted out of the conversation. Amira rolled her eyes out of the smaller aliens view.

 

_Dummy…_

 

“My gods, your mother is going to kill me…” Amira nodded, but then narrowed her eyes at one of the monitors shaking a visual image.

 

“What’s that pale blue circle?” The four-eyed adult turned to the screen with curiosity.

 

“Ah…that is what what I…wanted to speak about…with you.” He enhanced the image with a wave of an orange tool. Amira let out out a weak squeak as a continental planet with great deal of ocean came into view. 7 continents of varying climates and ecosystems, looking almost pristine from orbit, with only _very_ faint lights denoting settlements.

 

“But that’s impossible!” The girl squawked in denial, shaking her head. “Earth might not be part of the Alli—.” She yelped as Balak tapped her forehead with the back of his hand.

 

“This is clearly not your home world! The oceans are too widespread, and Mars and Venus still orbit the parent star. _And._ ” The view shifted to a 2D star map, showing two nearly identical galaxies. The rightward one was focused in on, and the dull yellow skinned alien pointed to it.

 

“That is _our_ galaxy, that strange radiation cloud, seems to have transported us here.”

 

“How long do you think it’ll take to get back?” The older man hummed, making the girl wince at the inhuman tones.

 

“If the Gravity engine was functional, about four to five days. As we are now…” Balak had a grave look on his face. “About four to five months if we didn’t _explode._ ” Amira turned pale, and grabbed a seat to sag against.

 

“It will not be…too bad…we’ve already sent a directed distress signal. They should…be here within two to three weeks.” Balak clenched his fist, and growled.

 

“We will all starve by then… most of our stocks and our food synthesizers were destroyed during the impact.” Amira seemed to have an idea, and Balak gave her a dirty look. “Don’t you da—.” His criticism was blocked as small chunk of metal flew and wrapped around his lips, sealing them.

 

“ _Why_ don’t we grab some organic material from that weird other Earth? We still have our scrubbers so I won’t get sick, and then we use some native raw materials to form food everyone else can eat. Our resident gas bag here will be a little harder, but I’m sure we can scrounge something up right?”

 

Balak sighed but hesitantly agreed, having no choice other than death.

 

“Our consensus is considering the possible repercussions of making first contact with a pre space flight civilization.” A tall flashlight like robot made its appearance known, its feet ringing like boots against the floor.

 

“All I have to do is pretend I’m a local human.” She grinned with excitement, and Balak let out a sound of malcontent.

 

“We will join you as surveillance as well as a monitor of your progress.” The robot was brisque in their statement and Amira shrugged.

 

“Why?” She asked with her expression already reading that she knew the answer.

 

“Our simulations indicate an 85% chance of an incident plus or minus 2.376 percent.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

“You Shepherds are all crazy sons of bitches…” Balak could only shake his head in disbelief.

 

“Crazy bitches works just fine my four eyed friend.” Amira replied with a cheeky tone, and sat comfortably as the ship lurched. The ship slowly pushed forward, at a slow pace, providing enough time to form a more concrete plan.

 

“I don’t understand how we go from taking a trip to visit your mother in the hospital to being stranded in unknown space.”

 

“Same buddy… _same_.” Amira rested her face against her hand and sighed in irritation. The ship turned up its thrusters, reaching a steady pace of 15 kilometers per second.

 

“Stupid wormhole…” Amira muttered under her breath and rolled her shoulder, letting out a satisfied sigh as it cracked.

 

‘Interesting…’ The human women stiffened and gave a miffed expression at thin air.

 

_I thought I was just hallucinating._

 

‘We are exactly where we are meant to be. You are the hope of this world’s future my avatar.’ Amira only shook her head in confused denial.

 

“Shut up you fancy kite.” Balak only gave her a look of befuddlement before returning to his post.

 

The ship grew inexorably closer to the odd world.

 

***

Unnoticed to anyone on the ship however their arrival had pushed another piece of inter dimensional debris onto a collision course with the strange planet. A small and distorted piece of white metal, acting as a protective cocoon to the broken pieces of a strange humanoid robot. It flew at high speed and within several hours, was burning through the atmosphere, but instead of falling into the ocean it seemed to hone in on an old volcanic mountain.

 

A _certain_ sapient flower and skeleton both yelped, and dived out of the way of the car sized chunk of rock. It had narrowly missed the patch of Golden flowers to the two monsters relief.

 

“What in the Angel’s name is that?!” Gaster devolved into gibberish as he spoke in his native tongue, confusing the flowery prince.

 

“Speak an actual language you Trash Bag!” Gaster took that opportunity to shove a grey pill into his mouth, and the flower coughed at the throat intrusion. He swallowed with some trepidation, and his body shuddered and weakly glowed.

 

“Now…What do we have here?” The skeleton monsters hissed as his hand approached the burning hot metal, and blew on it. He instead manipulated the metal with some precision use of telekinesis. He shook his head as he inspected the broken pieces of a strange machine.

 

“A powerful cybernetic skeleton with a human like epidermis…how fascinating. There are some bits of an orange hair like substance here and there, and it seems to have taken damage from an EMP. There are large quantities of high purity crystals here as well.” The flower grew curious and pulled out a round object with a vine. Upon closer inspection of the object however he screamed and threw it back.

 

“Ah, this is interesting as well. This artificial eye is superior in every way to a human eye, very advanced.” Gaster narrowed his eye sockets as he felt a prescence and lifted up a damaged but still functional torso. Disturbing images flashed through the scientists mind, as a desperate SOUL cried out for help.

 

And somebody came…

 

**BOOK 1 END…**

 

 


	12. Book 2 Chapter One: New New Home and a Case of Nuts and Dolts

**Book 2: Parallelism**

 

**Chapter One: New New Home and a Case of Nuts and Dolts**

 

“Pum, pum, pum, pum, puh, rum, tum, pum pum…” I sounded out that Dragon Ball Super song under my breath as I cooked some scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. Six eggs, and a few slices of ham, just enough to feed Frisk, Chara and I. Frisk was humming along, while Chara secretly muttered the Japanese lyrics.

 

Chara’s a total weeb…it’s really cute. Frisk has no idea what anime is but has begged me to tell her. I think she’s trying to impress Chara and it’s completely _adorable._ I concentrated back on the food, and hoped I wouldn’t burn it with my inexperience.

 

I mean I’d already done this like three times _before_ coming here but still…I’ve never made this much. I let the food be for a minute, keeping an eye for it to be ready. I dabbed off some sweat from my forehead, having taken a mile long run at Undyne’s behest. And by that I mean chasing after me, and throwing spears and boulders at me…

 

What a way to exercise, fortunately my pain was rewarded with Chara getting to join us. I never knew anyone could reach a pitch that high…

 

I’ve been here a little over two weeks now and I’d say it was…August 15th I think… _uh_ oh yeah it is.

 

Wait focus…

 

I turned back to the food, and added the final touches adding some salt, left it off to cool for a bit. I then grabbed three plates, and placed roughly equal sized portions for each of us. Frisk already had fork and dug in, while Chara stood up and grabbed one up.

 

“How is it?” I asked a little nervous to see what they thought. Frisk smiled widely and gave me a thumbs up, while Chara muttered an “ok.”

 

“That’s good…” I dug in myself and felt mildly proud of myself for cooking correctly. I had gotten more experienced over time, with Toriel’s help since he’s had learned to make more normal human food decades prior to my own birth. I already knew how to make eggs and cook spaghetti, and was learning a few other things here and there.

 

I could make some carne asada now, though the source of the meat was a little… _unique._ And the scratching on the back porch was the source of such meat. I dived to the back door chasing off a strange looking creature. It was rather large, around the size of a _very_ large bull cow and scaled, with some bristles here and there.

 

I was staring back against a highly derived hadrosaur descendent. It looked like a Edmontosaurus in miniature, but it had a mere three toes on its hind limbs, two hoof like toes on the front, and its bill was longer and thinner. The big bastard was huge around 3 meters at the shoulders likely an adult. The…I think they called it a Domestic Hmungo, let out a weak call, and I pushed its big ass away from crushing a bench. It huffed in irritation and whacked me with his tail; I didn’t budge an inch though. It flopped away, and sheepish Drak younglings lead it away from our home.

 

Apparently these guys are some of the most efficient grazers ever seen on Earth, competing with even the best ruminants in the world. The scary part is that’s the smallest species, with the Greater Hmungo weighing in at _6000_ kilograms, while this guy clocks in at 1500 to 2000 kilograms.

 

They’re also delicious…seriously they taste like beef, but apparently it’s healthier and uses less water and grass to feed per pound of meat. Watching a herd of them getting led by the Draks is an incredible sight, even if they smell a little.

 

“HELLO!” Frisk hollered form back in the house, with a tone of urgency and I bounced back to the house. She was gesticulating to the door with a worried expression and I followed. I opened the door to find a ragged Gaster, with a sulking Flowey in a pot.

 

“What is— _woah!_ ” The three of us humans were dragged with his telekinesis, and with my reflexes I grabbed the key and locked the door to the house. I wrapped my arms around myself as I floated on the road. We now were currently currently passing through what would have been the road to Snowdin. They had used some of the Hmungo to pull their houses out, and recreated the entire town. I could see the still incomplete New Home replica off in the distance, though it looked a little different now.

 

There were several skyscrapers and industrial building that were being fixed up one by one, and in between there were houses with the same style as the Capital, but only with wood and metal instead of stone.

 

Thank god we stopped Asgore from calling it New New Home. Instead it’s been called Ebbot City, though technically the entire kingdom of monsters is considered Ebbot City. What would be Hotland no longer existed, with the exception of a miniaturized CORE the size of a Submarine engine, with no chances of overheating or exploding. I focused back on Gaster as he rushed with maximum speed, leaping over the Librarby making Chara yelp in fear.

 

“W-Where are…we going?” Frisk asked, as we continued to get dragged by the scientist.

 

“I’ve made an interesting discovery that I neglected to inform you of.” Gaster replied.

 

“It’s not something _bad_ is it?” Gaster shook his head and Chara sighed in relief.

 

A kilometer later we were now at the Surface Lab Built by Gaster, Alphys, and sans surprisingly. They were the only three scientist, but the recently established STEM schools would soon have something to say about that. They wanted to build up a wider scientific community between Monsters, humans, and whatever else was out there in the wild.

 

Gaster _blastered_ through and we fell into a heap as he let go of us. I smacked my head on the hard metal floor and cursed under my breath. When I looked up however…

 

“Oh _god_ what is that?!” I staggered backward as I came to skull with an old skeleton.

 

“Oh it’s simply an old body from just before The Collapse…” Gaster waved it off, as we crossed a corner just out of my sight.

 

Why does he always does this…just _dammit._ Whatever now let’s just…see…what he wants…

 

Is that…the Paladin-290?! How the hell is it here, and why is half of it melted into slag? Alphys was hyperactively zipping around the machine, taking pieces off and taking notes on the massive mecha. sans seemed to be working on something else on a lab table like the ones in the True Lab. There seemed to be _somebody_ on the table, thought it was clear to see they weren’t awake.

 

“What the hell…” That…person on the table seems _oddly_ familiar, where have I seen a person like that before? A good chunk of their head seem have been ripped off, but there’s no blood. I could see some bits of orange hair on the relatively intact side. Frisk looked very queasy, and Chara looked mildly disturbed.

 

Okay keep it together, don’t freak out at what is obviously a dead android on the lab table. Wait would it be dead, shut down, or deleted? No don’t get distracted focus on the task at hand.

 

“What is going on?” Yeah…I still got it. sans turned and gave me a nod, before finagling with a touch display connected to a metal cabinet. A huge number of wires were hooking up the android to the computer as well as a power source.

 

“oh just something that nearly crushed Gaster a week ago.” The skelepunner replied, adjusting some wiring to make it less cluttered.

 

Gaster stepped in with a slight sheepish expression as us three humans gave him a glare. “It was no trouble really, it went right over our heads and no one was hurt…well except for the single occupant.” He had a piece of the Energy crystal that was seemingly powering the humanoid. He placed it in a glass box chock full of sensors and strange gadgets. Various reading scooped down on another display, and he stopped it at a percentage.

 

“This crystal seems to be around 7-9N purity, it would require a massive and mature industrial nation to create such a thing without extensive use of True magic.”

 

7-9…I remember that was 99.999999999% purity to…well. Never mind…

 

“Why exactly do you need us here then? We don’t know much about robotics you know.”

 

“I actually need only Brandon for this, but I thought it would be fine to bring the two of you along anyway.”

 

Huh? Why would he need me for help? Gaster gestured for me to come closer, and I felt a jolt of familiarity at what was some kind of feminine android. The intact half had the remnants of a cute innocent face, and a damaged green eye sparking with energy. The female(?) was wearing a whitish-grey old style blouse with shirt gray overalls. She also had a black-green color covering her remaining neck.

 

No…no…you’re kidding that can’t be…wait what am I saying of course it’s possible. If a random guy from a mundane universe can be sucked into another universe, so can someone from a fictional universe.

 

“Do you…recognize this robot?” Alphys had retired from inspecting the mech and I nodded in reply.

 

“It’s Penny Polendina…an Android with a SOUL.” Gaster grumbled under his breath saying “I could have told you that…”. He walked away, and I heard some disturbing noises as he worked on something.

 

They looked like spare parts to fix _the_ Penny Polendina up. He had also grabbed what looked like a mini DT Extractor with some modifications. He gestured for Frisk and she listened with some trepidation.

 

“I require an extraction of some of your Kindness, I believe I can form it into a highly effective healing substance that could repair the poor thing. As for _you._ ” Gaster turned back to me and I nodded in submission. “You’re SOUL is the most similar to hers, and may be able to communicate with her. With some _technological_ assistance of course.”

 

Fair enough…so let’s get this done then. Gaster lifted up his right and left hands, and with a brief light show I could see _her_ SOUL.

 

I could feel it’s power thrumming, and felt a wave of raw terror overcome me. I could feel her need to persevere, her need to learn more about her world. I felt her kindness, her urge to help others, to protect them. Then there was her strong sense of justice, to actively stop evil in its tracks. Her patience was great, her ability to wait something uncommonly found. Then there was her _determination_ , her will to live, to survive, to change _fate_ itself.

 

She…didn’t want to die just yet…

 

“BRANDON!” I snapped out of my trance as a frightened Frisk shook my shoulders. She gave me a worried expression, and I blinked away the spots in my eyes.

 

“W-What?”

 

“You were staring at the SOUL for like five minutes…” Even Chara couldn’t help but be worried, and I shook my arms and legs to get the feelings back in them.

 

Gaster cast me another look, but he had apparently recorded some data, and had retrieved what looked like a speaker and microphone.

 

“While that was… disconcerting I have all the data I need to form a link between us and the SOUL. He gently brushed his fingers against the shaking and pulsing heart, before adding a wire, which glowed with the same shade of purple as it. The speaker crackled and I heard a distorted voice sound through

 

“BZZT…Salu…BZZT…ions…” The tall skeleton only growled and continued to make adjustment and the voice became ever clearer.

 

“S-Salutations…c-can anyone hear me?” That was definitely Penny…but she sounded off. “Is someone there…please…” the female pinocchio paused and let out a shuddery breath. “I-I don’t want to die, please someone _help_ me.” She begged with a broken voice, and I could hear the desperation in her voice.

 

“Hook me up…right _now._ ” Frisk looked more determined than ever, and Gaster obliged placing the Extractor over her arm. The skull glowed an eerie green, and Frisk turned a little pale, but she held on. After a minute the machine dinged, and it’s creator pulled it off. Frisk wobbled but Chara caught her before she could fall. “I’m good…just need a little cuddle.” Chara struggled but Frisk held on like a vise and relaxed in her arms. Gaster snorted, and began to mix the magical liquid with omni gel(?), the gel glowing green for a moment before steam came off of it.

 

“That seems sufficient for now…” Some muttering from Gaster’s alerted the robot.

 

“H-Hello…whoever is there, can you reply?” I grabbed the microphone and hesitantly spoke back.

 

“H-Hi…” Penny was quiet for a short time and I hoped I hadn’t upset her.

 

“Hello there…who are you?” She sounded a little demanding, but in a contradictory kind tone.

 

“Well my name is Brandon…” I waved to the girls, needing some help.

 

“I’m Frisk.”

 

“Chara…” The redhead sounded unsure but went along with us anyway. Gaster kept on working, and was now replacing every damaged part he could. He grabbed the two broken halves and slowly fit them together like a puzzle. As he worked he dabbed the gel, and it receded into the machinery and wiring within. The body was slowly and near fully repaired but it didn’t turn back on.

 

“It is nice to meet you…” Chara gave me a swat and I listened to Penny, not wanting to ignore her more than I already did.

 

“Yeah…” I could tell that Penny was mulling over a question, based on the quiet humming of something…

 

“Do you know how long it’s been? I know my body was…damaged but I don’t remember much time passing.” Gaster stiffened with discomfort and I felt the bad vibes from him. I leaned in so he could whisper in my ear without Pen-Pen listening in.

 

“Based on an internal clock within her biomechanical body it’s been about 10 months since she was…” I nodded and thought back to what that meant.

 

That would mean we were _probably_ around the end of Volume Five which meant that Pyrrha and Roman were dead, Cinder was half eyed and Ozpin was now Oscar. I gave it another two or three months before the season finale and the beginning of volume 6. So future knowledge would be _mostly_ useless until Volume 6 gets up and running.

 

“…” Penny was silent and I realized she had heard us.

 

“Oh shit I’m sor—.”

 

“How are my repairs going…?” She skipped right over my apology, being more direct than usual.

 

“They’re doing well, you should be back up in 48 days 37 minutes and 32.373 seconds.” Penny still seems to be too quiet, and I suspected she would be affected by her near death for a while.

 

“Do…you know where I am? I must be in Atlas yes, though why father hasn’t come to fix me up himself is rather strange. Do you have any news of what has happened after my…accident?” I let out an awkward cough and decided maybe it was best to tell her the truth. I’m already getting shit put on my plate after a new two weeks or so.

 

Goddamnit…

 

“I’m sorry…but we’re as far away from Atlas as is physically possible.”

 

“W-What?” Penny didn’t understand and muttered just below the normal human range of hearing.

 

“You’re not on your planet anymore young one. I am sorry.”

 

“…”

 

“H-Hey everything is going to be okay. Besides Brandon is in the same boat and we’re looking for a way home for him too. Adding one more dimension won’t be any trouble.” Chara glanced away at the stares and I heard a quiet “thank you” from Penny that made her flush.

 

“Hmm…”

 

“Do you have any questions?” She sounded curious, I’m sure there was a lot about this world she would like to know. I haven’t gotten as much time as I’ve liked to talk with Frisk, with all the moving in and negotiations. Because if there’s just one thing I like it’s talking about subjects that interest me for _literally_ hours on end. Unfortunately there are very few people who don’t get annoyed by that, my parents tolerate it, a friend of mine actually enjoys my monologues. Frisk and Chara like listening to me, which is…validating, and Penny provides a perfect captive audience…

 

That…sounds really fucked up now that I’m thinking about it…

 

“I…would like to know what this planet is called, and what the Kingdom we are in is called.” Chara pushes me forward with a knowing smirk and I rolled my eyes in reply. Even if she’s right…

 

“The planet we’re on is called Earth, and this is the kingdom of Monsters.”

 

Wait…won’t she think we’re just lying?

 

“Okay!”

 

Well then, that settles that. Gaster was now setting up a small drone, a mini Metta in fact and was whispering into the microphone he had snatched without me paying attention. The square robot was colored in the exact same scheme as Penny and he had even added a skirt to match her dress. With a press of button the robot spawned for a minute or two screaming out random code.

 

“ **Accepting remote virtual reality control of designated user PennyPolendina.** ” The machine whirred for a few more seconds before finishing the apparent download with a _ding._

 

The Metta stood stock still for a moment before suddenly jetting around in apparent excitement and relief. The robot calmed itself and wheeled to face me, tilting the box shaped body like her head.

 

“Oh so that is what you look like!” She exclaimed with surprising calmness, and stumbled while facing Gaster. “You are?”

 

“My name is Gaster and I am a skeleton monster.” Pennyton accepted the answer, and wheeled over to Frisk and Chara.

 

“You must be Frisk and Chara yes.” Pointing to the both of them correctly too.

 

“ _Yep._ ” Frisk gave Chara a smile and the other chuffed in response.

 

The next introductions went off without a hitch. Gaster asked Penny a series of questions about Aur— _Dust_ crystals, as well as about her home planet. She was happy to help out, and there was as 20 minute long back and forth between the skeleton man and the machine girl. I even got the chance to speak about what I had learned about Monsters and our humans. Now we were making our way through town, luckily we had called ahead so Toriel wouldn’t freak.

 

Penny was _rolling_ out just behind us while an irate Flowey was grumbling on Frisk’s head. Flowey had been recently going through the new treatment method developed by Gaster and Alphys. He currently had about 14% of his monster SOUL that was being kept together by the 4 human SOULS. They weren’t just there to keep his SOUL together however; they would act as his guardian to stop any…unpleasantries.

 

“HELLO MY HUMAN FRIENDS AND FLOWEY! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU!” I grinned as Papyrus popped up from behind us, startling Pennybot and nearly toppling over. He was wearing his new non battle-body outfit. A blueish-purple shirt that said hot salsa in hot pink, some yellow and pink striped gym shorts, as well as his usual scarf. Jogging just next of him was Undyne in her casual clothes; sweat pouring down her rippling muscles as she worked out.

 

“SUP PUNKS!” Both slowed their roll to a normal walk, and Penny remained in place unsure of what to say or do.

 

“Hi Undyne. Hi Papyrus.” Frisk waved, standing up on her tiptoes to better look upwards. Chara waved silently, while her brother growled as he was almost tipped off Frisk’s tiny head.

 

She looked a little confused at he oddly dressed Mettaton next to us, and Papyrus had stars in his eyes(eyeholes?).

 

“OH HELLO METTATON, WHAT AN INTERESTING NEW FORM YOU HAVE TAKEN!” I winced as the small crowds around us whispered anxiously. I didn’t like the idea of having to run from a rabid crowd.

 

“That’s not Mettaton actually. Your dad found an alien human android and gave it this body until he fixes up hers.”

 

“WELL ALRIGHTY THEN.” That gave me a delicious idea, and Papyrus feet started to subconsciously stomp.

 

“Hey Papyrus do you wanna know what a country of skeleton’s is called?”

 

“I AM SORRY TO SAY MY ANSWER IS N—.”

 

“Al _bone_ ia…” His eyebrows started to twitch and I smirked in happy response. Undyne groaned and palmed her fish hands against her face, while Frisk giggled with mirth. Penny only tilted her head in confusion until a lightbulb seems to turn on.

 

“That is what they call a pun yes?” Frisk vi _gorey_ sly shook her head yes. “I believe Ruby has told me that her sister tells them on occasion.” Frisk’s eye twinkled in excitement, celebrating a fellow pun lover to meet in the future.

 

Our resident fish hero broke in not wanting a _pun_ fully _pun_ drous good time. She didn’t want us to give Penny a tu _Toriel_. That was about when Undyne smacked me upside the head, making me see stars.

 

 _OWW!_ The hell…

 

“I _know_ you were making puns in your head punk!”

 

“Don’t you mean…”

 

“YOU!”

 

“ _Pun_ ks.” That earned another smack and I felt it was high time to stop. Penny mechanically turned and waved.

 

“Salutations! My name is Penny Polendina and it is lovely to meet you.”  

 

“YES IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU! I AM SURE WE WILL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!” Penny perked up and whirred around the friendly skeleton.

 

“Splendid! There are so many things we can talk about! Perhaps I can learn about how your magic works. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. Ooo or we can talk about the intricacies of intimate courtship!” Even the great and loveable Papyrus was a little off out by Penny, but not in a bad way. He was just caught off guard

 

“Can’t you use magic too…uh kid?” Penny froze, hee body lagging under the surprise idea spawned by Undyne.

 

“I…do not think I am capable of that. I am not from the same world.”

 

“Nah you can, I felt it when Gaster showed me your SOUL. Heck you have the widest diversity of magic traits I’ve ever seen. _Not_ that I’ve seen that many, Magic’s only started to come back recently. At best maybe a few dozen people in the world can use it, you included in that elite number.”

 

For a moment Penny was silent and contemplative. She wrung her Mickey Mouse hands she was thinking of something.

 

“Could…you teach me?” I stiffened as Penny managed to give me puppy eyes without having actual eyes. I felt some swear run down and brushed it away.

 

“Uh sure…I don’t know too much so I won’t be a lot of help though. Some of the magic you have is different from mine too. I’ll do it but I don’t understand why you would ask me” Frisk rolled her eyes at my question and confusion coursed through me.

 

“You seem like you could be a good teacher, and I feel like I can trust you.”

 

That’s…flattering I think? Regardless I’m okay with teaching her, and that reminds me that we were going to do some tests with Gaster later. It gave me an idea, and I leaned down to talk to Penny.

 

“Hey…you want to see something cool?”

 

***

 

“Incredible to be able lift so much mass with your mind.” Penny complimented me as I lifted up a 20,000 kilograms boulder with my telekinetic magic, sweat rolling down my chin as I exerted myself. My limit in fact, not matter how much I tried I could never lift more than this, likely because of the low percentage of Integrity. In fact sans and Gaster could both lift over 80,000 kilograms while Chara could manage 60,000 kilograms. One thing we had learned was that a Red major could boost their other traits many fold, which is totally overpowered. I strained and the boulder fell down and cracked in half.

 

I felt back into a chair Frisk had prepared just in case and I gave her a thumbs up. We had decided to show Penny magic since she was clearly interested in it, and she needed to learn herself. Having fallen into the Underground her soul had been oversaturated with the leftover magic. She should start showing real signs once she has her body again, and would need help.

 

Frisk cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck as she started her demonstration. Undyne was acting as her sparring partner and looked almost giddy, more than ready for a _peaceful_ spar. Undyne pounded her fist against her chest making a resounding boom. Frisk lowered into a combative stance, and two red knives formed from thin air landing in a reverse grip.

 

_BWOOM!_

 

Dozens of blue spears materialized over their casters confident head. Her yellow teeth easily visible as the battle lust got to her. Chara was sitting daintily while eating some popcorn.

 

“One, two, three, gooo!” The two girls leaped into action, an _unbelievably_ loud boom rocking my body as they made contact. A single spear spun through the air and shattered on Frisk’s green barrier. Undyne back flipped under a knife swipe from Frisk. In midair Frisk was back slapped by Undyne, throwing her dozens of meters back and leaving a crater in the ground. Frisk didn’t care and only pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

 

“WHY YOU LITTLE—.” Undyne _blurred_ , and Frisk was forced to turn on a dime as the fish monster smashed into the ground like a freight train. Dozens of spears became _hundreds_ and the air was set on fire as they blitzed through the air, and Frisk had to weave and dance around them. She bounced a few off with her riot shield, and shot off with a kick aimed for Undyne’s fishy face. A cloud of debris blocked the results but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.

 

Because no matter how we won back then, all the boss monsters had been holding back beyond belief. Even the weakest monsters are probably as strong as Ultimate Captain America. But the boss monsters…like Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, and Asgore. Their power was… _terrifying;_ each booming hit that Frisk dodged or blocked was testament to that.

 

They crossed spear and knife at incredible speeds; on occasion Undyne would blend into the shadows and attack from behind, sonic booms the only signs of an attack. Rock and dirt were torn from their foundations with each footstep the two super powered women took. With a wave of her hand, Undyne froze Frisk in place. Frisk’s knives merged into a spear, and shifted to a green color.

 

Dozens of spears followed and Frisk screamed as she waved her shield back and forth. Penny was completely silent as the exploding spears rocketed across the sky. The moment the stasis effect faded however…Frisk _vanished._ Undyne glanced around with her one good eye, and ducked under Frisk’s bubble spin dash attack.

 

The bubble popped, and Frisk dashed forward slashing with both of her weapons while Undyne blocked them with her spear. Undyne started to boast, her power having seemingly multiplied while above ground.

 

“Come on Frisk I _know_ you can do better than that! You fought off Asgore you can certainly at least keep up with me!” Undyne leaped into the air twirling her spear and crashing it down on where Frisk was. Frisk formed another bubble but it shattered rather quickly under Undyne’s onslaught of spears, punches, and kicks.

 

“COME ON PUNK! SHOW ME _EVERYTHING!_ ” Undyne summoned another spear but it was different than the others. The spear was shining like the sun, and taking in other spears like a black hole. I started getting worried, as Undyne made a new attack we hadn’t seen before.

 

“Let me show you my…special attack!”

 

“AHEM!” Undyne was startled and the spear burst away, cutting a cloud in half before falling over the horizon. There Toriel was standing with a stern look and Frisk and Undyne flinched. She marched over and I had the grand idea of hiding behind Chara.

 

Yes…that would keep me safe from her wrath…yess.

 

Toriel proceeded to _carefully_ and happily explain why it was a bad idea to throw a spear the size of a double decker bus at a girl that is less than five feet tall. It was a long-winded speech about basic safety and ethics that would be rather…helpful in the immediate future. Frisk looked a little stiff, and the second Toriel turned her back, had hidden behind me.

 

“TRULY SPECTACULAR! I’ve never seen such power outside of veteran Huntsmen.” Penny dazzled with her hands, running circles around Undyne. Toriel looked confused for a moment, before her gaze softened. She smiled lightly as the bouncy robot expressed her interest.

 

“Huntsmen?” Undyne questioned the small robot and Penny stopped her movement.

 

“They are powerful warriors that protect the Kingdoms from the beast of Grimm.” For whatever reason Frisk seemed to flinch while everyone else other than me looked confused.

 

“Grimm…?” Penny sounded shocked letting out a small “huh.” under her…she doesn't breathe.

 

Penny wrung her hands as she thought about how to answer and I sighed. Better to get this out of the way now while things were calmed. Because if Penny had gotten here it meant that _other_ things could. That means that at any time, an endless horde of demonic beasts could come and slaughter us all.

 

“They’re basically soulless demons that _specifically_ hunt sapient beings with souls, kind of like Monsters if they were made of hatred, bloodlust, and wrath instead of hope, compassion, and love. Her worlds humans have been fighting them off for thousands of years in vain, as their numbers are nearly endless.”

 

A brief silence followed at my unexpected reply. Penny didn’t sound suspicious or betrayed at all. Ruby’s little robot pal was a little too trusting really…but we haven’t done anything other than help her so I guess…

 

“That…sounds kind of shitty…”

 

“Language!” Undyne shut her trap at Toriel’s glare and straightened her back. Frisk snapped out of her odd trance and and clutched the air in nervousness.

 

“Umm…are you okay?” She shook her head, and muttered some Tagalog under her breath. I had no idea what she said, but she was slowly teaching me some of there language. I believe she said something along the lines of “bad memories”, I had a bad feeling on why but didn’t press her. She could tell me in her own time.

 

“I believe I require some explanation on how you know this?” Penny sounded stern, though it was hard to take a talking box with a skirt seriously.

 

“Um…well I guess I’ll tell you about RWBY.” She perked up, and I hesitantly pulled up my phone. I searched around until I could find the early episodes. I could have gone on and told her nothing. But that whole shit about keeping your whole self-insertness a secret kind of sounds like a terrible idea unless it’ll get you killed. I’m pretty certain Penny isn’t going to go on a murderous killing spree _so._

 

Well…let’s get onto explanations.

 

***

 

“Soo…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“Why…” Chara started with her deadpan expression. “Do fictional universes keep showing up? We have _ours_ , this RWBY, What else is going to come up! Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, maybe Blood C or Attack on Titan if the universe hates us enough!” The redhead groaned, covering her red eyes with her palms in frustration.

 

“Chara!” The mentioned girl flinched as Toriel called her out. “I believe I remember telling you that those two _animas_.” Chara twitched at Toriel’s pronunciation of anime, but kept silent. “Are too _violent_ for you to watch! So much blood and gore, it’s disgustingly excessive!” Chara mumbled an apology, though it was clear she wouldn’t listen. Toriel sighed and leaned down to face Penny.

 

“Young one…if you have nowhere to go, you can stay with us until we can return you to your home world.” Penny nodded, touched by goat mom’s kindness and compassion.

 

I rubbed my head as an ache passed through it. I thought the peace would have lasted longer and now I knew we would have to deal with a _lot_ of shit. It also made me worry for _my_ Earth, if the Grimm arrived. Billions of people would probably die; the only assurance they had would be once magic starts showing up in great numbers. Because the entire _universe_ was getting saturated with the magic it had long lost, left only with limited amounts available to a select few. And I don’t even want to begin with that _other_ Milky Way galaxy in the sky. The big telescope sans recently built has found some _odd_ occurrences, weird distortions involving thousands of objects that are constantly shifting in mass.

 

Wait…

 

“Where’s Red? He was supposed to be here, to help demonstrate his magic. He said he wanted to show off a new trick of his.” Frisk stiffened and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion at her behavior. Her body was completely rigid, as I looked her up and down. Which was about when I realized that she still hadn’t changed out of her pjs. Little Frisk was wearing a softer and thinner form of her striped sweater, with cute goat pajama shorts. Chara was in her sweater wearing Batman shorts, and…eating chocolate. She was chewing a Hershey with almonds like a chipmunk, taking tiny bites.

 

Never mind…

 

“Frisk where is he?”

 

“Um…well the thing is…Red is.” Frisk played with her fingers and bit her lower lip. Her posture was stiff, and she refused to look at me in the eye. “HE’S ON AN ERRAND! AND WON’T BE BACK UNTIL TOMORROW!” Frisk screamed out and I only raised an eyebrow in response.

 

“Fair enough…if you don’t want to tell me. I’m okay with that, if this something private I shouldn’t butt in.”

 

“Thanks…” Frisk gave me an apologetic look, and I patted her head. I twitched as several alerts came in on my phone.

 

Huh…news about…what the hell?

 

“Goddamn climate change…” I shook my head in response to the poor news from home. I guess we were probably heading for the same future as this planet, only it would take a thousand times longer to recover from.

 

“Perhaps we can take a day to go to the beach.” I felt a shiver run down my spine at the idea. Toriel saw the look on my face and crossed her arms sternly over her chest.

 

“That’s a bad idea. Do you even have _any_ idea of what lives down there in that death trap?! Yes remember what almost happened to Onionsan right? He nearly got _eaten!_ ”

 

“He was fine! Besides the local humans go there all the time!” Toriel defended her idea, and I denied it.

 

“ _And_ they're all crazy!”

 

“Hello?” I tilted my neck in Penny’s direction and nodded. “What is _wrong_ with the ocean?”

 

That was when I began my rant. “Oh don’t even get me started! That ocean is full of monsters I tell you what! Super sized(and stubby nosed) Great whites, mosasaurs, penguins of death, and so much more!”

 

“Penguins…of Death!” I shook her shoulders, with a wild look on my eye.

 

“Yes imagine penguins as big as Toriel, with serrated beaks that prowl the oceans near the shore and eat babies!” Penny slowly backed away, clearly in awe of my wisdom.

 

Yeah…totally…I think I need to sleep more. I’ve been functioning on three to five hours of sleep for weeks. My eyelids started to droop and everything seemed to grow darker.

 

“Hey…are you?” I shook my head and pointed to the ground. My lack of sleep as well as my overexertion with my magic being the last straw. Chara panicked and just as I hit the ground, a soft layer of blue magic caught me. The room was growing darker still, and Frisk was panicking worriedly.

 

“Kuya…” She ran her fingers through my unkempt hair trying to wake me up.

 

“Next time…sleep more than five hours a day…” Frisk looked enraged and I knew when I woke up I would be in a world of trouble.

 

Still don’t know where Red is…

 

***

Red was gently walking across a small meadow of Golden flowers. The excitement of the last couple of weeks having preventing him from a _certain_ visit. He had brought a set of a number of different flowers as a gift to his human family. The old drak let out a forlorn coo, standing on his haunches in front of three graves. He focused on the most leftward one, decorated with flames, guns, and drawings of some old tattoos.

 

_In Loving Memory Of_

 

_VIA_

 

_July 25th 2258-July 22nd 2315_

 

_Craziest bitch this side of the Cascades._

 

“You were always the craziest of us all Via. I still remember the day you crushed some DEMON cultists flat with an entire herd of Hmungos, and rode one of them like a 10,000 pound horse.” Red shook his head and chittered in nostalgic amusement, still remembering the times before _it_ came. He turned to the next grave, and his body shook in long held in grief.

 

_In Loving Memory Of_

_Leilani_

 

_May 4th 2282- July 22th 2315_

 

_May the Fourth be with you._

 

“I should really hate you for having that on your grave. But…I can’t hate my flower loving botanist child. Always a strange one, so inquisitive and full of life. Makes sense your husband would be so much like you.”

 

The memories of a happy life flooded in, and if he was human he would surely be weeping. Red almost envied Frisk, knowing she would be more easily able to move at such a young age. He remembered the times when his flower and her siblings were close, when he could still fight and move as he once did

 

Before everything went _terribly_ wrong…

 

He faced the next grave and laid down some more flowers, a few pairs of sunflowers.

 

_Crisanto “Jenkins”_

 

_March 17th 2282- July 22th 2315_

 

_LEEROY JENKINS!_

 

“Son of a bitch…he really did it. You’re weird obsession with animals aside, you were a good guy. You would have loved to meet the monsters, hopefully you wouldn’t try to ‘probe’ them but…” Red flapped his wings in irritation, but he had the closest his species could come to a smile on his face.

 

The raptor that had in an age long past brought any army of murderers, rapists, and slavers to their knees was shuddering. _Y-you would have loved to see what your daughter has become my little ones,_ he thought with further melancholy. He jumped back up into a running position.

 

 _I suppose it’s time for me to go._ The raptor turned away from the three old graves with a sigh.

 

_Goodbye._

 

Just as he took a single stride however he heard a massively loud crash and a feminine voice. He went off running into the direction of the noise, fearing that someone had been hurt. He melded into the shadows however, taking into account the chance it could be an enemy.

 

Red would have raised an eyebrow if he could as a tall female human climbed up a tree to keep herself safe from the rampaging Errosaur of mount Ebbot. The huge coelurosaur sniffed at the young women’s blue boots, and Red marvelled as the teenager threw two sneakers at the tyrannosaurs eyes. The old female looked amused and stomped away, growing tired of the chase. He dashed around, and after a few seconds of analysis found a good spot to start climbing.

 

He made it up quickly, a remnant of his ancestor’s old niche of small tree climbers before they had adapted to the ground. He snapped against a small rat, but threw it the side at its diseased nature. _No disgusting parasites for me, Thank you very much,_ Red smugly thought believing himself more civilized. He clambered upwards some more until he reached the branch the human was sitting on. From under a leafy branch he hid just out of sight of the human.

 

The girl had curled her arms around her long legs and was staring down at the forest with a hint of wonder and awe. He felt surprised at the sheer tranquility she seemed to feel despite what had just happened. Her long hair waved in the weak breeze, and he stalked closer with his instinct telling him to beware.

 

“It’s beautiful here…I never thought I would get to see it. I’ve been to so many plan— _places_ but…this, this is wonderful.” The women smiled brightly, showing off all her straight teeth. Though he noticed she was scratching against a thin scar that ran down from just above collarbone and into her shirt.

 

“Hmm…” She hummed and tilted her head behind her, her green eyes flashing with white for the briefest of seconds. He revealed himself, a strange and frightening pressure made him think it would be for the best. The girl yelled and scrambled away, and the fuzziness in his head faded.

 

 _I’m going to regret this._ He made a coughing like sound, getting her attention. She looked confused but stopped her fleeing and moved in a criss-cross position with attentiveness.

 

“Hello…” His translation collar now miniaturized to a small necklace translated his bird like language. Her eyebrows rose slightly but she didn’t panic whatsoever, almost as if she had seen it before. Red felt suspicion but didn’t think she was dangerous.

 

“Uh hi?” She still looked worried, but gave him a friendly grin anyway. “So…uh nice weather we’re having huh?” Red let out a caw of amusement and the girl puffed out her cheeks, reddening in embarrassment.

 

“What’s your name little lady.” She couldn't have been more than about 18 years old, and seemed friendly if a little shy. He suspected she was a rather rowdy sort with people she knew well, and would show her true self if he got her out of her shell.

 

“My name is…Amira.” He raised his wing and she took it gingerly into a strange handshake.

 

“Red…” He tilted his head at her sad and slightly nervous expression. “Is something wrong? If you need any help I am glad to give it.”

 

“Um well…” Amira clicked her teeth together and sighed. “Some friends of mine and I were taking a trip on a…ship when it was knocked around by a storm and sent off course. We sent out a beacon hoping they would come but… it turns out it’s going to take a week more than I thought, and one of my friends needs special food or else he…” She looked extremely worried and was rubbing the scar even harder.

 

“Well I can help if you want. I know the way to the biggest town in the state, and they should have or can make what you need.” He offered and was startled as the human picked him up in an embrace. She threw him around and he growled in righteous fury. She flushed and quickly put him down.

 

“Sorry…” Red shook his head and he pointed with his snout. He grasped the trunk and slid down, the human following behind him. Her hit the ground softly, the human just slightly louder despite being much heavier. As they walked down a path that would eventually lead to the city, Red noticed Amira’s subtle strength. Her body coiling up, as if ready for a fight. He could also sense a deep and powerful magic from within her, and knew she was a very _determined_ soul.

 

 _She almost certainly has some form of martial and weapons experience. My bones can just feel it. Very well conditioned as well, and could give Undyne a run for her money in the muscles department._ Despite those thoughts, his instincts told her him he could trust her to not hurt anyone. He could see that she was a kind and honest soul.

 

“Come among then…human. It’ll take about a day or so to arrive so.” Amira nodded and stepped behind him, her walk almost giddy.

 

“Well okay then mister. You’ll keep me safe from the dangerous animals won’t you.” Red rolled his eyes at Amira’s response.

 

“Another little shit huh? Must have been a _bad_ person in another life then.”

 

Human and raptor walked side by side, leaving the now empty mountain of monsters behind. Unnoticed by Red however, a subtle shimmer of air was tracking them. An old machine from an old war, following the child of an old comrade.

 

“How’s she doing Legion?” An old alien asked with a knowing tone, and the machine tilted its one eyed head.

 

“She is completing the objective with local assistance.” The voice on the other line sighed.

 

“I’m going to wring her neck when she gets back.” The voice stated matter-a-factly and Legion tilted his/their head in confusion.

 

“Attacking an ally is dangerous to allied cohesion.”

 

“…bastard…”

 

“We do not understand.” The voice screamed and there was a sound to shattering glass on the other line.

 

“Well…at the least they’re going to send a few probes with some food for gasbag in case we can’t find anything for him. The whole galaxy is acting up with those spatial distortions, we’re lucky we’re the only case to get picked up by one. Regardless I’ll call you back. Goddamn flashlights….”

 

Everything was silent once more and the old machine followed the duo, keeping watch for the danger sure to arrive.

 

 


	13. Book Two Chapter Two: A Beach Day and a Shepherd

**Chapter Two: A Beach Day and A Shepherd**

 

When I came to, the next day I ended up getting chased by an irate Frisk for half an hour until she collapsed onto me. Which was I was currently carrying her like an adorable potato sack.

 

“Put me down…” I put her down, not wanting to anger her further. Frisk was a real spit fire when she was mad. I couldn’t blame her though, what I was doing was just…plain stupid.

 

“Now exactly why have you not been sleeping?”

 

“HOLY HECK!” I jumped a few inches in the air startled by Toriel’s sudden entrance. It was difficult to reply to her question but my resolve softened at the worried look on Frisk’s face.

 

“Well…I just…I _miss_ home, that's all I…” Frisk looked more sympathetic than before and grasped the palm of my hand.

 

“Y-You can tell me what’s _really_ bothering you right?” I shivered and felt horrible discomfort. Toriel looked over her shoulder and more shivers wracked my body, and my vision turn blurry. Toriel’s expression shifted and I pulled Frisk close, as I remembered the _pain._

 

“I still…remember all those…d-dea—.” Frisk shushed me and I shuddered as the memories flashed through my head. There were occasionally still phantom pains and I felt my lip wobble. A larger presence wrapped their warm arms around me and Frisk, and I-I…

 

Every night I just kept reliving those deaths over and over. I lost count on how many times Asriel killed me in that place. Whether it was being stabbed to death, getting my insides spilled out, or being burned alive.

 

I remembered it all _very_ clearly…

 

“S-Stop it…you’re scaring me…” I snapped out of it to find Frisk in a frazzled state and hugging me even tighter.

 

“I-I’m sorry.…” I flushed when Toriel picked us both up and growled.

 

“You need a day to relax… and I know _exactly_ where we need to go!” Frisk looked excited and relieved. Her bare feet dangled in the air with happiness and her eyes twinkled.

 

“The beach!!” Frisk squealed while I lay prone in Toriel’s arms. I heard footsteps and twisted my body to face whoever was coming. I raised an eyebrow as Chara approached from downstairs into the basement of the house. She was quietly whispering to Pennybot who was having a difficult time walking up the stairs having to jump with each step. Toriel gently placed us down, and I felt a little better.

 

“The beach?” Chara asked, grasping the necklace Frisk had given back. Frisk threw her up in the air in response.

 

“The beach! Full of nice sand and _sexy_ beach babes!” Chara flushed as Frisk wiggled her eyebrows like usual. Toriel gave Frisk a stern look, but the young girl only shrugged. Frisk yelped as I picked her up and flung her around, I was grinning and felt even better.

 

“Never change Frisk, never change.”

 

***

 

“I’m still not too sure this is a good idea.” I expressed my opinion toward going to the beach. They had managed to convince me to go to the beach, but I still didn’t trust that ocean. Lack of sleep or not, that ocean was a literal sea of monsters. Unlike our ocean, this ocean was full of life due to lack of overfishing and was warmer allowing for much larger animals than normal to flourish.

 

But admittedly it wasn’t all-bad, because there was a _unique_ group of wandering nomads that sail across this vast ocean. A group of humans descended from climate refugees from various island nations, though the majority originated from Singaporeans oddly enough

 

From what I can tell the locals trade with those groups who have become known as the “Whale Folk”. Apparently they’re called that because of a symbiotic relationship with a subspecies of Orca. The nomads are like those people from Australia who hunted _with_ orcas back in the 20th century, on a much grander scale. A few tens of thousands of fishing people hunt super sized sharks, squid and fish side by side with whales. They _rule_ most of the Pacific and have built huge boats moored down to sunken islands as bases.

 

It’s in fact how I know there are monsters in that ocean. When I went to an open market once, they were selling a shark fin as big as my entire body. A pod of whales and humans fighting against a pseudo megalodon. Not a real one, since it turns out Great Whites and Megalodon aren’t closely related at all. Plus there are all the weird stories of Orcas with supposedly magic powers, like the ability to move things with their mind. Which is _probably_ bullshit but…well you know.

 

Anywho, we were currently walking to the beach with Frisk in a one-piece blue swimsuit using Flowey as a hat. Chara was in a red model and covered in a layer of sunscreen, to protect her sensitive skin from the harsh sun. Everyone was tagging along in fact. sans was wearing a white shirt that made him look fat, and blue shorts. Papyrus had an orange shirt that said “Cool Dude!” on it with blue and orange shorts. Undyne was wearing a two-piece orange bikini with Alphys trailing behind and _clearly_ staring at her ass. Penny was having a hard time at it, her wheels not suitable for sans based operation. Mettaton who thankfully didn’t change his outfit solved her plight. He was in his new body, and was now picking up the real square Penny like a sack of fruit.

 

Toriel was wearing a conservative purple swimsuit with a yellow sun hat ,and a nervous Asgore was trailing her. He was wearing a classic touristic Hawaiian shirt with red beach shorts and looking around with curiosity.

 

Gaster couldn’t make it as he was busy working on Penny’s body and figuring out how Dust worked. He had the very basics down, but now that he knew they could be mixed together into a wide variety of forms. The scientist wanted, no _needed_ to know and understand everything he could.

 

I could understand that sentiment honestly… without him the only one missing was Red, and he said he would join us later. But he wouldn’t be here for at least another hour, so I guess we had to wait. I took a curious look around the sort of crowded beach. By their standards anyway, since I’ve seen easily 5 or ten times the number of people on beaches back home. It was kind of warm, but a cool breeze kept it from going to far.

 

Even so the beach was really well kept, not even a hint of garbage though whether that’s due to better environmental policy or lack of people or lack of people I couldn’t tell you. There were maybe one to three hundred people scattered across the huge beach with multiple lifeguards of sorts.

 

A loud thump behind me, made me jolt and I heard a crow like laugh as the white raptor from two weeks cackled. She was still wearing her mask, but not much else, so it was hard to see her expression. I didn’t know too much about her, other than being maybe a religious or spiritual leader of some sort I think? I have no idea what the beliefs of a sapient species of maniraptoran would be. My eyes widened as two tiny chirps alerted me to two _tiny_ Draks lagging behind her. They were barely bigger than a cat, and their heads tilted at me.

 

They’re…so _fluffy_! I leaned down to get a better look of the cute little munchkins. One of them then bumped their snout against my nose surprising me. The white-feathered female tapped her feet against the sand, anxiety clear to see.

 

“Are they yours?” She looked almost shocked, and her stance started to relax once she processed the question. She cleared her throat and a low voice replied.

 

“Y-Yes…” Her syrinx like organ struggles to mimic human speech, and I was impressed at the range of their voice boxes. “The dark blue feathered one is Jubilee while the white one is Branwen.” I rose an eyebrow at the familiar name, but though nothing of it. Branwen _does_ mean a white crow/raven. I nervously shuffled about, as I stared at the tiny raptor with a small urge. Their mother chuckled at my expression, and I nearly pouted.

 

“You can pick them up if you want. They won’t mind if you ask.” I reached out and nearly fell as Branwen leaped into my outstretched arms. The small one, a female I think snuggled into me. I couldn’t help by grin at the cute little thing, chirps and squeaks. The other one chuffed and leaned away. I shrugged, as there was no need to force them. I gently stroked the affectionate feather ball, and the bird like little girl relaxed in my grip.

 

“So cute…” Branwen grew anxious and I passed her back to her mother. She perched on her mother’s back and I wondered something. So I coughed getting the white ones attention. “Um…I never got your name.” Her eyes lit up and I waited for her to respond.

 

“Call me Anjo.” My expresion turned flat as I thought about how Drak names were completely random. I guess they didn’t have a culture where certain names would be chosen based on some cultural element. Another chuff refocused my attention to Anjo and I grinned at the friendly non human lifeform.

 

“Heh…it’s uh nice to meet you.” She hid her chuckle under her wing and I slumped. Why does everyone have to make fun of me? She stiffened as a high pitched ring sounded from a small satchel. She whispered into a phone like device and looked dejected.

 

“Sorry but there’s something I need to do. Someone wants me to officiate a wedding and I can’t deny the call.” I nodded, understanding her dilemma. She ran off and I waved goodbye.

 

Would have been nice to talk more…

 

“ _Hello_ nurse!” I was startled as Frisk walked up to a… _gorgeous_ women. Toriel was rushing to stop the girl’s antics. I could hear the women flush at whatever Frisk said, but denied the weird twelve year old’s advances. She walked off with a chuckle and Frisk slumped at her failed flirtation. Chara was off to the side with her face in her hands. I shook my head, and walked across the sand with my blue sandals. Within a couple of seconds I was now giving Frisk a smug smirk and she struck me. I felt literally nothing and she pouted again.

 

“Shut up…”

 

“I’m not sure what you were expecting Frisk.” She gave me another glare, but the fire in her eyes died pretty quickly and she crossed her arms.

 

“Ah here is a good spot!” Toriel exclaimed, placing a huge umbrella to form some shade. Papyrus and sans placed down their own, and I squinted as as Mettaton’s umbrella glittered in the sun.

 

I glanced away, the light practically blinding and not in a good way. Asgore passed me an umbrella and I stumbled through the set up. I sighed as the sun was blocked, and placed down the towel. I leaned back against the soft fabric and took a deep whiff of the sea salted air. I heard Frisk’s complaints as Toriel added some sunscreen to the little girls exposed skin. Topping it off with a neat smattering of sunscreen on her nose. Flowey had apparated next to me and I had to admit that I flinched.

 

“Sup…” I grunted, my good mood dropping just the teensiest bit. Though the guilty look on his face, made me feel a little better. I nodded, and rested my arms on my legs watching the lapping inland sea. I couldn’t believe that deep below the waves, lost coastland dotted the diverse seabed. The atmosphere of this sandy place was energetic, but also strangely warm. The people of this smallish community were so open and friendly in comparison to the average large city back home. The air tasted clean and fresh, no signs of industrial pollution. From what they had told me, the town had recently come into possession of some offshore wind farm. Apparently they belonged to a now dead remnant of that cult Red had told us about. I think this was back around 10 years ago, but they ended up missing a few. Which was what those explosions were from…before.

 

“I’m sorry.” I tilted my head, not expecting to see the near tears within Flowey’s eyes. He choked up and I leaned against the cooler Asgore had silently placed down.

 

“I hurt you…and I feel… _terrible._ ” The flower was trembling and for a moment I saw the kind goat child who once was. It made me think about why he never came back.

 

“I…think I know why you never came back after the good ending.” Flowey pauses with a hitch in his breath. “You didn’t feel you deserved it of course. But…you also didn’t want to feel the guilt for everything you’ve done.” The golden flower nodded almost sadly and I think I could understand him a little better.

 

“Yes…even worse that I did all those things…while still having a soul.” I shook my head at his self deprecating statement.

 

“Monsters souls are made of love, compassion and hope right?” He nodded with some hesitation not knowing where I was going with this. “This isn’t something _I_ came up with. But maybe…since you only had a piece, you only had hope.” He looked suitably confused, but I kept going anyway. “If that’s what you’re made of, then you shouldn’t have been able hope for someone to fix you without a piece of your SOUL. You had enough Hope to _keep_ living.” His eyes widened and he looked pensive as we took in the beautiful view.

 

“You think that…the part of my soul I had was what gave me the power to…Reset.”

 

I gave him a shrug. “Maybe…you would have to ask Gaster to figure that out, he’s the resident expert on souls.” Flowey looked happy, but it seemed almost dull…incomplete even. But the unnatural fakeness, that alien lack of emotion was missing now. I think Asriel could get through this, it would take time and effort. But so many things in this world did.

 

Then suddenly a blue and brown blue smashed into my stomach, smacking my face in the sandy towel. I groaned as a spontaneous twelve years old yammered out an apology. I stood up, taking the girl off the ground with me.

 

“S-Sorry…I just wanted to spend time with you.” I flushed and I heard Asriel let out a muttered laugh. Which was about when I decided to pick up his pot and bring him along on our _grand_ adventure.

 

“hHey put me down!” I grinned cockily and the flower shrieked in unadulterated rage. Frisk dragged me along toward her ocean, and my enthusiasm dropped like a rock. Once we see three feet from the lapping waves I imbedded my feet in the sand. Frisky stumbled as I came to a stop, and with a brief glance understood the situation. Her expression said “really?” making Asriel laugh again.

 

“I’m not going into the ocean.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. I stood my ground not wanting to go into the ocean. Frisk’s expression shifted, and her lips rose up into a growl.

 

“Come on Brandon the waters _nice_.” Frisk practically begged and my fingers curled into my white shirt. I briefly glanced at a gaggle of girls walking past us, and Frisk’s eyes narrowed. Oh crap she noticed! Please don’t mention it please don’t mention it. Frisk started to smirk, and I flushed when Penny asked a question to Mettaton.

 

“Why does Brandon’s heart rate elevate when those human females pass by.”

 

“Oh my gods you’re embarrassed aren’t you?” I took a step back, and I scowled as Chara cackled in the background. “You’re not scared of the monsters. You just don’t want to swim, since you have to take off your shirt”

 

“S-Shut up!” I squeaked as Frisk pulled at my shirt, and gently pushed her off. She waved her hands in an attack pattern and I conceded. I knew where this was going, better to give up now. I grumbled angrily and I lifted up my shirt.  Frisk’s eyes bugged out of her chest and I felt confused. Even Chara was staring, while Mettaton gave a teasing wolf-whistle.

 

“Uh what are you looking at?” She stammered while gesturing to my body with her hand. I patted my body, thinking something had crawled into my shirt. I frowned when I noticed something… _off_. What was normally my soft and pudgy stomach, felt leaner and harder. I poke again experimentally and flexed to make sure. It was not six pack, but…

 

“Holy hell how much weight did I lose!” I was baffled beyond belief, I must have dropped either a couple of pounds or replaced it with muscle.

 

“HA! TOLD YOU MY TRAINING WOULD BUFF YOU OUT!” Undyne boasted and I felt surprise and…maybe even a little proud of myself.

 

“ **Oh darling, what rapid improvement!** ” Mettaton posed on his beach chair with style. I scratched the back of my head, and tilted my head at Frisk. For whatever reason, she seemed to be shorter now. Chara seemed to notice too, but then her yes widened in realization.

 

“Ohhh…you’re not slouching as much.” I felt my back, and sure enough she was right. My back was almost straight, only tilted the slightest bit forward. Which was new to me.  I had long since developed the habit of slouching, making my worry punt height look even smaller.

 

“So I am…” Was all that I stated. Frisk suddenly sprang back to life, and dragged me back to the sea. This time I didn’t stop her, for once actually feeling like going into the ocean. I’m not even sure there’s anything to worry about; my aura will _probably_ protect me. Though our aura is less a barrier, and more a huge amount of magic holding our molecules together.

 

 _Hey_ wait don’t you—

 

Getting dumped into the ocean by that little devil girl interrupted me. Chara had snuck up behind us, and pushed us in. I closed my eyes, not needing salt in my light sensitive brain outgrowths. Chara’s victory was short lived as I grabbed her by the ankle. She yelped and was skipped over the water like a fleshy stone, ending in a painful belly flop. I slowly kicked my feet, keeping my head over the water.

 

Chara resurfaced with a vindictive look on her face, with a _pissed_ Flowey floating freely in the water. I had…completely forgotten that I had dragged him with us. Flowey looked angry with his sister, but when looked at me.

 

He was _livid._ Both Royal siblings shared a meaningful look, and I turned to Frisk. She had an idea about just what was about to go down.

 

Chara spoke up first opening up her red eyes. “Surely you know…”

 

“ **That this means WAR.** ” Chara dug her hands into the water, an orange light shimmering from her fists. Flowey attached with his vines, hanging onto his sister. One vine became a massive paddle shape, perfect for throwing gallons of watery death.

 

They both lunged…

 

“Oh shit!

 

***

 

“NOOO!” I yelled out as Frisk was skipped three times over the water. I ducked under a small Flowey wave, and retaliated with my own. My super strength lifted up a wave almost a meter tall and three meters wide. The Dreemurring siblings were instantly hit and thrown back with a shout. I pumped my fists in the air in celebration.

 

“ _OHHH_ YEAHH!!” I screamed into the heavens, startling a small tourist group from the far south. Draks allied with humans had apparently conquered the entirety of modern Baja, forming a small empire. One of the raptors hissed as we sprayed them with water. He tried to give us a piece of his mind, until a female wearing ornate rings _boomed_. The male became submissive and backed away, only giving us a final glare before walking off.

 

“I WILL MURDER YOU!!” A little girl cried as Flowey shrieked while leaped up from the sky. I rolled my eyes and stopped his fall with a wave of my hand. I grinned as Frisk full nelsoned Chara. The little red eyed girl struggled to escape Frisk’s strong grip. Which was to be expected really, it’s hard to get out of one of those.

 

I dragged myself out of the war, my muscles aching after a two hour splash fight. Most of the crowd had stayed back from our superhuman play, but remained fixated. Chara huffed as a smirking Frisk picked her up bridal style.

 

“Ahem…” I turned and my self-confidence dropped as three pretty girls approached me. Frisk mouthed, “Flirt.” And I shook my bed vehemently, _knowing_ it would end poorly. Now back to the three girls, one looked to be of African American descent wearing a velvet red two piece. Her full lips lifted up in smirk, though her eyes twinkled with curiosity. She was about half a head taller than me, and looked to regularly work out. The girl had frizzy black hair and blueish-green eyes. Standing shyly behind and grasping her arm was another girl, very skinny and pale. She had a thin diamond shaped face with thin lips and a large nose. Her straight red hair acted like a curtain blocking my view of her eyes. She was another inch or two taller than the first girl.

 

The third girl was the shortest, just slightly under my own height. She was Asian I think, maybe Japanese? Her face was round shaped and she looked rather hyper. Her feet were actively tapping on the sand, and her eyes moved back and forth. Her amber eyes caught my own, before she focused on something else.

 

“Uh Yeah?” Outside of my nervousness I was curious on what the girl wanted from me.

 

“That’s magic right?” I mouthed “Yes.” And her eyes brightened further. “So…you think we’ll be able to do that too someday?” I thought about it for few moments, remembering back to my science chats with Gaster. He had said all the Magic in the universe had been freed up with the barrier gone.

 

“I suppose so…but it could be anywhere from weeks to years before everyone will get it.” The leader of the trio stiffened up and I thought I said something wrong.

 

“Everyone? But…wait holy shit that’s awesome!” She threw her hands in the air in excitement and I supposed that maybe she’d be an avid student one day. “I’ll be able to be like a superhero! Saving everyone from bad guys!”

 

“But it also means bad guys will have super powers.” The Asian girl burst her bubble with a deadpan, and the shy one gave her a look. The first one sagged and pouted, but recovered quickly.

 

“Well once I get my magic maybe…” I froze as a soft finger wandered its way up my arm. The girl’s voice had turned sultry and my face looked like a sheet. “You can give me private lessons.” She whispered in my ears, making me shiver. I jumped back, and fell straight on my ass. I felt my heart practically leap out of my breath as the girl cackled. My ears burned and I felt flustered and angry. The Asian girl punched the second tallest, and her mischievous expression shifted into concern.

 

“Uh sorry I was just teasing.” I grumbled as she offered her hand. I took it and balanced on the balls of my feet. “I do want the lesson, but well I’m already in a relationship.” The shy girl’s grip tightened dangerously and my grin became a little teasing at the sight.

 

“It was more the ear whispering than the flirting. Frisk has said… _much_ weirder things than that.” Frisk nodded sagely knowing it to be true.

 

“Still…sorry.” I really couldn’t say anything against the girl. She didn’t want to hurt my feelings it seemed. I was still going to hold a grudge for a while though.

 

“So…your names?” Might as well try to make some friends while I’m here.

 

“Madison.” The dark skinned girl replied, scratching her cheek lightly.

 

“Emily.” The name was barely a whisper from the tallest girl.

 

“Sam…” Odd name but you can call yourself whatever you like.

 

“It’s nice to meet you then.” The girls seemed okay…but you never really know with people.

 

“Still sorry…” I raised up my hands in a shrug, no longer caring about that. Madison tilted her head, and following her view I noticed she was gazing at a distant food stand.

 

“Maddie, you want something from that food stand?” Sam asked her friend with a sardonic tone of voice, and the aforementioned girl flushed. She tapped her feet on the sand and let out an affirmative “mhm.” Sam smiled and grasped the girl’s unoccupied arm. “Then we should go.” Both girls started walking, but not before saying goodbye.

 

“Uh bye!” Madison waved with her right hand with a big smile and I gave her a smaller wave back. The shortest girl silently waved as well, with the shyest being the only other to talk.

 

“U-Uh b-bye.” The three girls eventually became small dots in the distance and I turned only to bump into Frisk’s nose. She was pressing her hands against her cheeks in excitement. I had no idea why she was looking at me like that. But I wasn’t sure whether I should like it or not.

 

“Uh wh—.”

 

“You’re making friends!” Frisk shouted throwing her hands in the air. I almost rolled my eyes but suppressed those instincts. I didn’t want to ruin her fun, even if she’s dancing like a weird drunk pirate. Which makes no sense, since she’s actually a terrific dancer _and_ singer. Though Chara is even better at that, in fact everyone I’ve met can sing in some capacity. And for some reason that feels…so, so familiar. Wonder where that feeling of dejavu is coming from?

 

“Sure yeah…” I replied as my focus returned onto the still smiling girl.

 

“Are we not friends?” I directed my view down to Penny. Her hands were wringing themselves and I nodded to her question. “Oh excellent perhaps I can ask some more questions?” The five of moved back to the towel, and I felt some small aches from the fight. That had actually been kind of fun, I wonder why I didn’t do this with my fa—.

 

“B-Brandon?” I shook my head and took a deep breath, and smiled weakly at the robot.

 

“I’m fine…just remembering.” I leaned against the cooler, and with a brief glance decided to open it up. There were a number of beverages within, mostly bottled water, some Earth soda and juice equivalents and…Durian juice. Apparently Frisk _loves_ the pungent fruit and its various derivatives. I grabbed one Koolaid like juice along with a water. Chara cringed as her human friend grabbed the Durian, while she grabbed… a lone chocolate milk. Flowey didn’t grab anything, and grumbled as Toriel placed him in his salt water logged pot. Frisk grinned and with a flash of green, the pot was fully repaired.

 

“It’s a nice day isn’t it?” Penny tilted her box, confusion quite evident. I honestly felt pretty tranquil here. I just wanted to relax and take a little nap, even if only for a moment.

 

“I suppose it is. But if I may?” I nodded and curl up as a stiff breeze passed by.

 

“Go ahead.” I was curious what she had to ask, what could a machine brought to life ask a fleshy meat bag like myself.

 

“What is…your world like?” Frisk flinched at the question, but her own curiosity overcame her concern. I waved off her concern and she grew a bit more excited.

 

“It’s _different_ from here, we don’t have magic, Grimm, or monsters. We’re not living in a recovering post apocalyptic society, or one that evolved on a death world.” I smiled as I thought about my home, it wasn’t perfect but at least it was a little safer. “We have our issues, war, climate change, racism, sexism, just prejudice in general. But…despite our faults a part of me still thinks we can do better. If not for moral reasons, I hope at least for pragmatic ones.”

 

My Earth now had a clear example of what climate change was doing to the planet. The only reason this humanity survived was out of a technology we almost certainly didn’t have. Most of their population perished while ours would likely go extinct under the same conditions. We could try more normal methods of climate engineering, but that could create more problems than it solves.

 

“So why do you have magic?” That was a question I asked myself whenever I used that power. Why did I get magic? My world can’t have the physics to use or make magic, or else we would already have it. Heck why did we have SOULs at all in the first place, everything about this world defies the laws of our known reality. Our world should have been torn to pieces the moment our world came into con—

 

Oh…right.

 

“I don’t really know myself.” I played off her question, my speculation disturbing my peace of mind. Frisk’s expression shifted, her own thoughts clearly visible. She seemed curious to but only Gaster and that _thing_ that saved him would know. I sipped through my juices straw, but narrowed my eyes as I heard Papyrus shout. I shot up and ran, with Frisk and Chara on my heels. I searched around to no avail, unable to find the skeleton.

 

“He’s seven feet tall, how are we missing him?” Both children shrugged until I heard a rattling sound _underneath_ us. I stiffly looked down to find Papyrus.

 

With only a head. “IT SEEMS I AM IN QUITE A PICKLE! COULD YOU HELP A FRIEND OUT?” I feel shivers as our cinnamon roll spoke up, with only a head.

 

“AHHHH!!!”

 

***

 

Thank god, it wasn’t what it looked like. Apparently Papyrus was letting himself get buried in the sand by a little kid. But their mother came in and picked them up, leaving our precious skelly out to dry. It took us well over a minute to pull him out, and he was still shoveling out buckets of sand from between his bones.

 

“THANK YOU FOR THE ASSISTANCE HUMANS! MY BONES WERE GETTING RATHER STIFF.”  I opened my mouth to reply but Frisk best me to the punch.

 

“No prob…I wanted you to have a _beaching_ time at the beach.” My lips twitched upwards at the pun, and Papyrus groaned. “I didn’t want you to be all _crabby_ once we got back. It was rather _shellfish_ of the mother to not let the kid dig you out.”

 

“PFFFT…” I covered my mouth to suppress my chuckle, and Chara and Paps both gave us a stink eye. I could care less though, those jokes are _always_ funny. Not matter what other people think!

 

Only Frisk, sans, and Toriel can _truly_ understand me! Papyrus finally patted the remaining sand of his shirt, and I tilted my head as I heard a _familiar_ chirp. Frisk’s eyes lit up in recognition and she plodded over to Red. He look a little haggard and melancholy, but also…like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He must have visited _their_ graves then, and I just remembered that I had never told Frisk what he had told me. That was why she didn’t mention where he was going.

 

“Ah little bird! And Brandon, you’re looking good.”  He flashed me a Drakian grin, and gave Frisk an affectionate nuzzle.

 

“it’s been a while Red…how you been.” I stayed calm as sans _popped_ in from behind. I had long since gotten used to his teleporting pranks, and without a reaction he rarely bothered now. We were slowly walking back to the umbrellas, continuing the talk.

 

“Quite well I’ve…gotten some closure.” There was a brief flash of light in sans eye, and he had an understanding look on his face. “I also brought along a new companion, a real strange one too.” He chirped as he stared right at Penny with a knowing look. “And you seem to have picked a strange one as well.” The robot girl waved shyly and my eyebrows twitched at one of Red’s previous phrases. He grinned again and I took small step back, at the nearly maddened look in his eyes. I froze up as someone taller than me, whoever it was, stopped me and they were oddly warm. Almost like they had walked out of a sauna, and still hadn’t fully cooled off.

 

I tilted my head upwards and started up into the emerald green eyes of a very tall brunette. Her lips were lifted up into a teasing smirk, and her hair tickled my nose for a second.

 

Wat…is I, u-uh.

 

I stepped and turn on my heel, but immediately tripped over my own feet. I landed on a green barrier, and quietly thanked Frisk who gave me a thumbs up. The girl chuckled and offered her hand to pull me up. I took it and and she lifted me up rather easily. Which made sense being like twice my size, in volume at least. I _really_ hope I didn’t say that out loud, wait did I? Well she didn’t look insulted or annoyed so I think I’m okay. She placed her hands on hips, and kept smiling as if waiting for something to happen.

 

“You know you can let go right?” I retracted my hand like her hand was made of fire, and felt heat rush into my cheeks. Frisk gave me a thumbs up and I gave her a glare before turning back to the girl. Her face had formed a neutral expression which meant she must have been laughing at me. She suddenly looked panicked and I felt only confusion.

 

“Uh…sorry I didn’t mean to make you…uh, um never mind.” She played with her fingers nervously, tapping them one against the other.

 

She seemed…rather nice, if a little weird. Her grin was a little more wobbly now, and I rose up my hand to shake hers I guess(?)

 

“Um…it’s nice to meet you?” I wasn’t the best at this, but I managed to introduce myself to four people already. I think I could handle another one _just_ fine. She took my hand, but had to lean down to reach out. I may or may not have gone onto my tippy toes, to even it out.

 

“Brandon…” Her grin grew less nervous and more confident and her grip tightened. I ignored Frisk’s blatant smiles and giggles, and _Toriel’s_ eyebrow waggles. The girl…oh _wow_ she’s really tall, she’s like a foot taller plus a couple to inches. Her hair looks really…stop that.

 

“Amira Shepherd.” Amira huh? That's a really nice name actually. I let go and took a closer and more detailed look of the girl.

 

Again she was tall…but she looked really well built too. She looked more than capable of breaking me in half. Only Undyne and Aaron had bigger muscles than she did, kind of made me feel inadequate. Her hair was rather long reaching down to her upper back, and was a mild wavy mane of black, with a slow transition to red at the tips.

 

Her voice was almost deep…but also at least a little familiar if with a weak accent I couldn’t determine. She was wearing a torn blue t shirt, with beige cargo shorts that clattered with a metallic noise. I frowned as Frisk leaned in, placing her lips near my ears. “She’s cute isn’t she?” I flustered away from her, and lightly swatted her nose. She yelled rubbing her nose in pain and irritation. Amusement danced in Amira’s eyes and I puffed out a heavy breath.

 

“Right…um this is Frisk.” I introduced the two girls with irritation coloring my tone. Amira’s eyes widened a tad at Frisk’s smile and she shook her head, making the  comparatively small girl vibrate under the force.

 

“Hi…Frisk it’s nice to finally meet you. You’re uh, grand uncle?” Red nodded and she let out a breath of relief. “Has told me _lots_ about you.” Frisk puffed out her cheeks and stomped her feet, complaining childishly at the revelation. Red only cawed with mirth and she flushed even more in anger.

 

“OH HELLO HUMAN!” Shepherd(Amira?) flinched as Papyrus spoke up from behind her. She didn’t seem worried or frightened, more fascinated really? Her mouth dropped as all the monsters stepped into the picture. She tilted her head upwards for the four giant monsters we had brought with us. She looked almost awed, but it also seemed familiar to her, and my suspicion rose. Unless she had been here for a while, she shouldn’t be used to monsters so easily. Even then, most of the human are still a little weirded out by the monsters here. I don’t blame them either, going your whole life with no magic and then BOOM magic! It takes time and effort to get used to that new normal.

 

“Uh sup? And you are?” But even if she was suspicious it didn’t mean she was a bad person. My SOUL was telling me she was a good person, and even sans could tell. I knew to trust him with how intuitive he was, especially after that incident with a pickpocket. His magic told him that some kid was trying to make off with my phone, and he managed to stop him. Everything ended up going great too; Toriel helped him find a good home with a monster family. Papyrus rattled as his excitement grew tremendously. With a flash of light his cape reappeared, now matching his beach outfit.

 

“WHY I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” Amira tensed and she covered her mouth holding back a giggle. “I AM GLAD TO MEET SUCH A FRIENDLY HUMAN! I’M SURE WE’LL HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME IF WE EVER WANT TO ‘HANG OUT!” Amira’s body shook with mirth, and she nodded almost shyly.

 

“I think I would like that.” Papyrus gasped as he made another of his many new friends. His friendly and warm personality was more than enough for all the humans and even the Draks to befriend him. While his brother was distracted sans and Frisk both turned to face Amira. I narrowed my eyes as the both of them snickered. I didn’t know what they were up but it couldn’t be good.

 

Amira’s eyes narrowed in on sans face and his perpetual grin widened further. He lifted up his for her to take.

 

“aren't you going to greet a new pal. names san, sans the skeleton.” Amira quirked a bushy brow and reached downward. I watched in exasperation as she took his hand and—

 

“FRRRRRRT!”

 

There was an awkward and tense silence as Amira stood completely stock still. As quiet as a _boneyard._ An oddly cute sound rumbled from her throat, building and building until…

 

“AHAHAHA!” Amira _snorted_ and the two makeshift comedians fist bumped each other in victory. Their victim kept snickering and I had an odd thought.

 

Her laugh is kind of cute…

 

W-Wait. Don’t think those thoughts it’s rude. I really hoped I wasn’t blushing. Frisk took the time to break in with some puns.

 

“Sorry…we didn’t mean to tickle your funny bone.” Amira kept giggling, and started holding her stomach at the terrible(if personally funny) jokes. “But _tibia_ honest we are pretty funny.”

 

“no _bones_ about it. we’re the best _bone_ dians in the whole world. we’ll make you laugh so hard you’ll need a de _fibula_ lator to bring you back.” Okay I snorted at that one, as did Amira.

 

“Hey…Frisk.” Frisk paused her laugher and let her questioning gaze speak for itself. “Why did the _Skelefrisk_ start laughing?” Frisk turned wary, and was inching backwards. But that was the moment that Amira _pounced_ with all her strength.

 

“Because they were getting tickled to the _tibia_ of their toes.” Frisk _exploded,_ her breathy shrieks echoing.

 

“Nooo! S-Stop it! Hahaha! Pffftt! Brandon help me!”

 

“ _Nope._ ” I was very much enjoying Frisk’s suffering and and in the end she was left a tired and sleepy wreck.

 

“Hey come here.” I beckoned her, and she came wrapping her noodle arms around me. I picked her up easily, and she let out a weak snore. Amira didn’t appear to expect it, and looked almost worried. Until I reassured her that Frisk had just tired herself out.

 

“I believe it is time for us to go home.” The whole group agreed, and for a moment I thought to stay a little longer. But it was getting a little late, and we could stop by someplace to get some food to eat. Red gestured with his snout and Amira jolted following behind us. We started to pack up our things though I had a more difficult time, with Frisk. I still don’t get the idea of clinging to my back like a koala. I mean it’s adorable and all but it’s not exactly comfortable.

 

We walked for about a half an hour and made a stop at Grillbys for a late lunch. I gestured to Amira to come in, and she scanned the room with an analytical gaze. The usual monsters greeted sans and he made a casual pun before ordering up some food for us. It took a little longer to cook the food, as there had been some recent change ups on the menu.

 

It had been Alphys who had altered them; apparently humans couldn’t survive long term on monsters food. While they would get the energy they needed just fine, they would miss some of the nutrients they needed to grow. So they would stagnate both in cellular growth as well as physical growth. They would love long on the food, but there would be a number of potentially dangerous health risks. Chara hadn’t been as affected by it because Toriel’s home cooked meals was much more solid than average monsters food.

 

So they made a new fully matter based food injected with monster magic during the cooking process. It was a little harder to make, but would give them the full package. It passed through the stomach in the usual way, but provided an instant energy boost due to magic. A good number of the town’s militia had even taken to the food, and wanted to learn how to make it. But they would have to wait until enough magic was in their system to awaken their SOUL.

 

“(Here’s you’re meal.)” I gave Grillbs a thumbs up, and ate the hamburger with gusto. Amira poked at hers with suspicion and I urged her on, knowing she would like it. She took a single bite, and let out an “mhmm.” of appreciation.

 

“It’s…um…pretty good.” She spoke between bites and my nose twitched in _slight_ disgust. Her chewing stopped and she hid behind her hair for a moment, taking slower and calmer bites.

 

“I can tell…” I replied with a small smirk, and she swatted my shoulder. I hid a laugh behind my hand, and couldn’t believe how easily embarrassed she was. She was honestly just nice to talk to, and I felt like maybe I should get to know her better. I coughed and she made easy eye contact from the high swirly chair.

 

“Um…I hope this isn’t out of bounds or anything but uh where are you from?” She stumbled, but recovered quickly and rubbing her chin as if thinking.

 

“Um well…I live from pretty far away…thousands of miles away in fact.” I nodded, though my SOUL told me she was lying I couldn't care less. If there’s anything convenient about Integrity it was that knowing others intention made things _way_ easier. “We were taking a trip on a ship to visit my mom in the hospital when a storm knocked us off course.”

 

Half truth…

 

“The crew…who are good friends of my mom sent me out to get help. Since one of of the crew members needs a special food or else he’ll…” I nodded understandably and she visibly relaxed. She became a bit more talkative, though I could feel a hint of guilt within her. “Currently we’ve got about a week or two left before anyone from back home can come get us.” She shook a bit, and set her jaw in determination.

 

“You miss home don’t you?” We were both quiet, and I answered her unspoken question. “I miss my family…especially with the _unimaginable_ distance between them and I.” Shock filled her eyes, and I shrugged not feeling insulted that she would lie to my face. Whatever’s going on with her, I won’t judge.

 

“I…” I waved off her concern and she shut her mouth.

 

“No need to apologize. If you’re friends need any help then we’ll help. And if you need a place to stay to find whatever you need, well?” Toriel smiled in a motherly fashion at Amira, and the unknown girl looked grateful.

 

“Thanks…”

 

“No problem…just eat your burgers okay?”

 

***

 

“Hmm…how odd.” Gaster muttered as he squinted his eye through a massive 30-meter telescope. Multiple small objects were scattered across the space between Earth and Mars. Most of it was a vast amount of ancient human space junk but there were at least a dozen artificial objects both above 117 meters in length.

 

“This is not normal. They cannot be manmade, too large and too new. By the Angel it is fortunate that most of them appear completely broken. Except for two of them, though one is careening out of country and should crash into the ocean within three days. The second one is in a stable Low Earth Orbit and must mass 10,000 metric tons!” Gaster was surprised and and worried, and almost cursed as he realized what was happening.

 

 _Why did I not think of it! There was a third bubble, and I have ignored the potential consequences for too long._ The doctor set up equipment, and tore off a mysterious black cover, revealing a 6000-kilogram satellite preserved since Pre-Collapse. He had managed to fix it but needed an appropriate launcher; he had nothing yet at hand.

 

“No that won’t work yet, it’s nowhere near ready for launch.” He gazed at some diagrams but clenched his fists. “SOUL Artifice version 4.08 isn’t yet done, we can’t power an Iron Shield yet.”

 

_BOOM!_

 

The skeleton monsters speculations stopped as something banged into the healing container for a certain androids body. Gaster _popped_ over, and with blazing eyes searched for the disturbance. He heard chuffing and huffin and with a snap of his fingers summoned an array of glowing hands. Beneath a large kicked over trashcan _something_ dark and hairy was rummaging across the garbage. It snorted and cracked its hoofs against the lab floor.

 

“A pig.” The “pig.” stopped all movements and with a crack of its neck shifted its red glare toward the doctor. _What in God’s name…_

 

The pig more of a boar really was massive, outweighing Gaster by a hundred kilograms. The beast was unnatural in every respect of the word; it’s furry body black as night and tinted with strange goo. Its tusk was over a foot long extending well past its toothed mouth. It’s four red eyes blinked as it’s bone mask and armored back rattled, and the smell…

 

Gaster shivered and _Checked_ the beast hoping his Void magic could help him understand.

 

**Boarbatusk ATK 8 DEF 12 HP 100**

 

***The Corrupted**

 

In a state of panic, a massive bone severed the creatures spine and within 30 seconds it had dissolved away into a noxious gas. Gaster was hyperventilating, his anxiety and terror clear to see to anyone who could watch.

 

“What kind of DEMON could create such a thing.” He turned to the body of Penny and his thoughts became more pensive.  “But this has given me an idea…the child never said I could not make improvements yes?”

 

The doctor got to work, to protect the hopes and dreams of this world he would make something _new._

 


	14. Book 2 Chapter Three: The Morrigan

**Chapter Three: The Morrigan**

 

Don’t open your eyes even for a second…don’t you do it me. I waddle awkwardly in the dark as I maneuvered through the house without falling or bumping into anything. I heard that _women’s_ hearty laughter and barely repressed my urge to curse her out. I _really_ should have thought this through when I invited Shepherd to live with us.

 

That woman just has no shame whatsoever…enough to embarrass even Frisk, and that girl had a good poker face. She has a habit of walking around in a stringy tank top with boxer shorts.

 

But this is the final straw… but thank god that in this case it wasn’t some weird habit of hers. Frisk had _forgotten_ to mention that Amira was talking a shower and I ended up walking in on her like a moron. Thankfully she had managed to put on a towel before I could see anything, and while she wasn’t naked. It was still really embarrassing…

 

“H-Hey you can look now I’m not…” The Middle Eastern girl was tongue tied at the moment, and I sluggishly opened my eyes. I was relieved to find Amira with a black sweatshirt that had _N7_ printed on the corner. For whatever reason that shirt summoned a sense of further familiarity that worried me. She also wore some grey gym shorts that said the same thing. We walked out of the bathroom with an air of awkwardness. It quickly faded once I turned to look at Amira’s face.

 

“Thank you…” A teasing smirk rose on her face but before she could get a word in I shushed her placing my finger on her lip. We remained still waiting for who would make the first mood. Who would win? Who would draw first? I reckon it’ll be m–

 

“You licked me?!” I retracted my finger and brushed it against my newly made green shirt and made a sound of disgust. She stuck out her tongue and made another licking motion. “What the fuck is wrong with you!” She shrugged with a grin, and I grumbled half-heartedly. I already had enough of the admittedly _insanely_ attractive women and her…weirdness. But…I annoyed her almost as much as she annoyed me. She could dish it out but she couldn’t take it herself. Teasing her was like a worthwhile martial arts and I couldn’t stop myself. _Especially_ with how cute her reactions were.

 

A knock on the door stopped our friendly  “conversation” in its tracks, and Frisk _breezed_ past us and opened it. My jaw tightened as Gaster made his return after three days, instead of the one or two days he had promised. When he said it would take longer, I could also sense the concern and guilt within him. Penny was hopping down the stairs in a hurry and we waited for her to get down.

 

_Thump._

 

_Thump._

 

_Thump._

 

“That’s enough of that.” I picked her up, long since getting into the habit of carrying people for fun. She squirmed in my arms as she adjusted her positioning. I walked down the rest of the stairs and gave Gaster a sideways of suspicion as we walked to the Lab. Amira followed as did Frisk and Gaster looked mildly guilty as if he had done something…not unforgivable but definitely not morally ethical.

 

I hope I was just worrying over nothing but…well he doesn’t have the best track record. But the biggest problem is the strange sense of mortal terror as well as fear for _somebody_ else. He found something that could harm or even _kill_ us all and he hasn’t told us. That really pisses me off that he thinks that it’s a good idea to hide that. He should know how well that’s ended for him and for others in the past.

 

“Yello?” I opened my eyes and Amira’s eyes flashed dangerously for a moment before suddenly calming down. She looked almost ready to attack me before a sense of confused horror filled her eyes. I blinked dumbly as she grasped her head as if a headache was coming on. Frisk whispered in her ear trying to calm her to the best of her ability.

 

I rubbed my hands together as anxiety filled me and my heart dropped into my stomach. Amira looked _pained_ and I didn’t understand what I did wrong. I didn’t know why she was scared of me and I didn’t like it.

 

“A-Amira…?” She flinched when I called her name and I felt even worse.

 

“Um…” I perked up when she spoke up, moving from one leg to the other. Frisk sighed in relief and took a step back as Amira got her footing. “Most people just call me Shepherd.” That is an odd way to address an eighteen-year-old, why would?

 

That it couldn’t be right? Gah! There’s no time for this we need to get to Gaster’s. Comfort her now, ask questions to answers you may already know.

 

“Uh…do you need anything?” She quirked a brow, with a thin grin spreading across her face. “Like something to eat or drink…maybe a hug from Toriel?” Her grin shifted into a smirk and I knew I made a terrible mistake.

 

“You offering?” I shook my head vehemently and she chuckled, amused at my expense. But she wasn’t in pain anymore so it seemed like it was worth it…

 

“No…” I _think_ I may have hesitated there, and I shouldn’t have. A weak blush tinged her cheeks, and I looked away awkwardly.

 

“Cough…Just ki—.” I covered Frisk’s mouth and in a moment I had her in my unoccupied arm. She relaxed and let herself hang off my impossibly strong arm. Like seriously I bench-pressed like 3758 kilograms the other day, beating that other guys record with less than one third the body mass. Heck the bar snapped in half a few seconds after. If I could do that I can carry a lightweight like Frisk for a little while.

 

I actually think I could lift more than what I did too…but I still need to learn how to use my aura correctly. There are actually a number of uses for aura other than a strength enhancer or a shield. An important part about our aura is that to function in such a fragile world, we must channel our aura into our surroundings or else we will break it. Running at 100 miles an hour with human limbs will shatter the ground underneath our feet.

 

So we have to channel aura with our _every_ step just to keep the ground from breaking into dust. It gets worse, different types of terrain offer different resistances and thus differing manners of aura channeling. Something we’ve had to figure out to not _shatter_ a building support by mistake. Penny was the one to tell us that, since monsters do that _inherently._ It took a fair amount of practice, but it was way more convenient. Before that…we were limited to maybe 40 or 50 miles per hour to keep the roads undamaged, but now…well hitting 200 isn’t an issue anymore. Heck we can use aura channeling to run up walls in heels…well Frisk can. I ain’t wearing heels.

 

And then there’s sliding where we decrease friction across the front of our foot and increase it on the back of our foot or vice versa. It lets you skate across _any_ smooth terrain like sand dunes, glass anything smooth and even will work. It’s much more efficient in energy expenditure for the same speed but is limited to only certain surfaces.

 

Then there’s hopping where you need to reinforce the ground so you don’t leave a crater every time you leap a 100 feet in the air. You can even use it to _literally_ bounce off the walls; it needs preparation for obvious reasons.

 

The final movement technique I know of is flying…yeah _flying._ You use your aura to move without using your limbs, but most people have limited applications with such a thing in combat. You can use it to lengthen the arc of a jump, or even alter your course like a human missile. You can also increase your speed beyond what gravity and speed alone would allow, making yourself a cannonball. _Or_ do the opposite and slow yourself down, giving you the time to make multiple hits on an opponent.

 

Thank you, obligatory secondary powers…

 

“We’re here…” Everyone was staring at me and I blushed as I realized I had been daydreaming for 10 minutes. A smug Gaster opened the door, and we entered into the almost industrial air of the Lab. The lab looked like it had been retrofitted, with armor plating the outside and what looked like the lasers from the CORE being placed within. There was the distinct sound of tinkering as Alphys welded away at the frame for another CORE, but much, much smaller. Around the size of my clenched fist.

 

“N-Now just the final touches and done!” Alphys lifted off her welders mask and murmured in surprise as she saw us approach.

 

“Oh u-um I didn’t think you would come in yet. Uh your body is over in that direction.” Alphys pointed to left and continued to mutter as she lifted up the small power source. I only the click of her claws on the floor, as she kept tinkering with the incomplete machine. Penny took the lead, her small wheel screeching on the hard metal floor underneath us. A door _whooshed_ open and we entered into the room.

 

The room was brimming with lights all of them shining down on the inert body of Penny. There was _something_ different about her and I noticed an out of place purple heart emblazoned on her abdominal area. In the center there were six small colors each decreasing in their share of the small pie. The only other missing part was her left eye, revealing a star shaped camera eerily resembling Mettaton Neo. I also noticed the glass box filled with advanced robots, with one active one placing on the pseudo organic skin over the eye area. Another arm resembling a massive spot welder reverbated with energy.

 

“I assume you are ready?” A nod from Penny was all he needed for permission from the robot. Her Metta body went dead, and the arm blazed with lightning injecting its energy into the technorganic body of the machine with a SOUL.

 

“Ahh…” Penny’s eyes opened widely and she let out a mix between confused shrieks and pained moans. Her body spasmed for several seconds before going unnaturally still. Her eyes blinked and I heard the shutter of a camera, before adjustments made it fade.

 

“That is quite strange.” Her eyes lit up like flashlights and I caught a beam to the eye. OWW… what the shit it BURNS! The robot bent her body into a sitting position, and scanned the room with an odd look. She stepped off from the table and landed on the floor with a _thump_. She suddenly vanished and popped out in front of me with a worried expression.

 

“Oh friend I apologize for the light. I’ve been getting used to my new systems, Gaster has made extensive modifications.”  

 

What the hell did you do Gaster?! The skeleton raised his hands up in a placating gesture but Penny stopped me from doing anything drastic.

 

“Please do not get angry Brandon! I gave him my permission to make the modifications to my physical platform.” I nodded tiredly and Gaster seemed almost shocked at my passiveness.

 

“Why are you not angry?”

 

The guy isn’t the brightest bulb socially huh? “You do remember that she’s a superhuman robot girl designed to fight armies of demons right? If she gave you permission then there’s no issue as long you follow ethical guidelines.” I was only annoyed at the fact he didn’t tell us. Whatever freaked him out that’s his problem until he feels ready, but healthy communication is an important part of any kind of relationship.

 

“True enough…” He sighed and rubbed his hands together, and I flinched as I heard his bones spark with the force. “It’s just I found something disturbing.” A single snap of his fingers and a holographic player a short video. Gaster was confronting a…Boarbatusk. But that…oh _god._

 

“I feel like I’ve seen that _thing_ in a book before.” Amira whispered under her breath thinking we couldn’t hear her. I let her think so, I would give her time to tell us when she felt it was right. Frisk was shivering and I grasped onto her shoulder to calm her down. A few light coos were enough to quiet her whimpering. Penny had a stony expression on her repaired face, and stepped in front of Gaster. Within that lull she bowed at a 90 degree angle shocking Gaster into silence.

 

“Please… Doctor Gaster will you teach me Magic!” A wave of uncontrolled magical energy leapt free from the deepest part of her SOUL. Her determination, her will to protect those weaker than herself sprung to life. Gaster regained his composure and both his eyes lit up their respective orange and blue.

 

“Child…of course.” He gestured with a _soul_ finger for us to approach him. “We’ll need to accelerate your training as well, bring the other human too. Their magic should prove useful.”

 

All of our thoughts came to a crashing halt as what he said sunk into our minds.

 

“ _What?_ ”

 

***

 

The four of us plus Chara had joined Gaster in his special lesson. I felt better about this, since we had been bumbling in the dark for weeks without him. We had spent maybe a day or two studying and experimenting with our magic in the last busy weeks. I had changed into a green sweatshirt with long and loose black pants, perfect for what we were doing. Amira was wearing the same clothing as before, and Frisk had changed into a loose sweatshirt version of her sweater with shorts. Chara was no different and I asked myself where they had gotten them. Penny being _Penny_ less didn’t bother with a wardrobe change.

 

Several mats had been placed down on the flat dirt plot behind the lab. Gaster waved at us to sit and we did. I sat down wrapping my arms around my legs, curious on what we would learn. Amira sat back to my left, taking Frisk’s spot before she could sit down. Frisk pouted and tried to sit to my right until Penny took _her_ place.  She collapsed to the right of Penny and pouted even harder, crossing her arms in rage.

 

Chara was the next to sit and curled up next to Frisk, whispering quietly into the young girl’s ear. Both girls had red cheeks, and I sealed my lips not wanting to alert them. I felt a pull on my hair and grinned as a blushing Amira spoke.

 

“Oh my _god_ that is _adorable._ They’re so cute I think I could die!” I smirked as the two girls kept talking, ignoring Gaster’s unamused look. He clapped startling the two girls, they both sat back down on their own pads with stronger blushes on their cheeks.

 

“Well if you’re done with _distractions_ let us get started.” Dozens of shapeless holograms forked around us, and Amira muscles coiled, her eyes narrowing to slits. Penny smiled eager to start her training in the ways of true magic. One of them formed a wide screen over Gaster’s head and my eyes widened as they formed a battle screen.

 

**Gaster 66 ATK 66 DEF HP 6666**

 

…Damn…that’s a lot of attack and uh aura I guess. Everyone who isn't familiar with the system blinked in confusion and he waved it away with an edit.

 

**Gaster 66 ATK Aura 100%**

 

“Oh you have figured out your own way to measure aura then! How fascinating that you use the guise of a video game as a measuring system.” Penny looked positively tickled at the idea, and the skeleton monster shrugged in response. He passed us some small wrist devices and the hologram changed, with Penny and then my devices glowing purple.

 

**Penny Polendina 25 ATK 25 DEF HP 2500**

 

So Penny has a greater attack stat than Papyrus?! How strong is the lovable skeleton then if he can almost match up with a goddamn waifu terminator pound for pound. But…Penny’s got him even more beat on the defense and hit points. My “stats.” popped up next and I was curious to see what had changed.

 

**Brandon Rubio 18 ATK 18 DEF HP 1200**

 

Well…then that’s actually really impressive, seriously holy crap. I didn’t have any indication I had that much aura. The image shifted and the three others wrist bracelets all glowed _red._ Frisk’s approximate stats were the first to be shown and I was curious to know just what she had.

 

**Frisk 16 ATK 40 DEF HP 4000**

 

…

 

…

 

Well then…let’s skip to Chara this time then? When the image on the screen flashed, the little bas—child had the smuggest look on her face.

 

**Chara Dreemurr 24 ATK 24 DEF 1200 HP**

 

I’m literally the weakest person in this group aren’t I! Heck I expect Amira to be tougher with the magic she has. The next hologram flickered oddly and Gaster frowned for a moment until Amira’s statistics came up.

 

**Amira Shepherd 60 ATK 60 DEF 6000 HP**

 

“That is an abnormal amount of aura isn’t it?” Amira looked confused as well as intrigued and clearly had questions. The screen started to glitch and Gaster grumbled as he attempted to fix whatever issue was ailing the machine.

 

“It was working fine for at least two days! What the devil is happening now?!” There was a fog as something with _immense_ power watched us, and my muscles tensed for a fight. The screen glitches again and I warily read the screen waiting for whatever it was to pop out.

 

It didn’t…

 

**R**v***

 

 _BOOM!!_ The screen imploded and we were thrown back, our aura taken the damage for us. A small crater had formed where the screen was and Gaster cursed under his breath as he picked up the microscopic pieces of the hologram-making machine.

 

“Damn…well we need to continue with this lesson…despite the setback.” Gaster gave a forlorn shake of his head. He was puzzled as Penny with a smile raised her hand in the air. He pointed to her uncertainly and she stood up to her feet with a bounce.

 

“How accurate is this ATK, DEF, and HP?” Penny was still smiling sweetly waiting for her answer.

 

“Not very…” Gaster dryly replied and pinched the bridge of his…face. “ATK and DEF can both be easily altered. Whether by the use of weapons or armor, the numbers can decrease or increase based on those factors. DEF alone can be altered by a surprise attack or betrayal; ATK can vary based on your mood, your training, or just what you ate that morning. The strangest thing is that aura is separate from DEF. My research has led me to believe that defense…in the case of humans works solely on magical attacks, while in monsters it protects us from both.”

 

“That is truly interesting…so HP would be the manner in which you measure aura. We have always measured it only in percentages.” Gaster nodded and he told some notes on the information, scribbling it down in a shoddy book.

 

“I have a question of my own.” Gaster gave a thumbs up and I kept going. “What does DEF do when it’s human vs human?”

 

Gaster showed us a mysterious smile and flourished with his hands. “Nothing.”

 

“Huh?” He chuckled at my expression and his face became serious.

 

“To be honest, it really doesn’t do much at all. Usually only True magic is blocked by it, and basal aura techniques and “semblance,” don’t count for whatever reason. Of course to compensate, Magic is much, _much_ stronger.” He pauses as he mulled something over. “Well defense _can_ block such attacks but it takes great amounts of training to do so. Only fully trained Huntsmen could manage it.”

 

So if DEF usually only works against magic, how come whenever we got attacked by monsters physically we’d only take one with… _oh_ so that’s why monsters are so weak against humans. _Any_ attacks from monsters will be blocked since they’re almost entirely made out of magic in the first place.

 

“Uh, dude.” Amira patted my cheek, snapping me out of my speculations.” Everyone was staring directly at me, and I flushed like mad when I realized I had spoken out loud. Gaster eye sockets had widened to their fullest extent possible, and he was suitably interested in what I had to say.

 

“An excellent hypothesis, but that would mean monsters are made of nearly pure aura. I will need to start some tests.” Gaster rubbed his chin for a moment and edifices to move on. “Hmm…now onto the next lesson! For the two of you I will be evaluating your SOUL!”

 

A purple and red heart emerged from their bodies. Penny calmly smiled though there was a twinge of discomfort, but Amira looked like she was internally screaming.

 

“Hmm…” Penny’s SOUL pulsed and Gaster nodded in affirmation. “55% Purple, 10% Green, 10% Yellow, 10% Cyan, 10% Red. Five magical affinities, it’s incredible something never seen before.” Penny looked as if she was preening just the tiniest bit and it was quiet cute to see.

 

Amira’s SOUL was next…

 

“80% Red, 8% Yellow, 5% Orange. Not too varied though her level of determination is unusual, typically only one in well…a very large number. I can teach this, Brandon has experience with Justice magic, Chara can help with Bravery.”

 

“Should we get started?” Chara asked, impatience clouding her eyes.

 

“Of course…let us begin our lesson in magic!”

 

***

 

“Now Penny…as your magic is the most well documented… ignoring your Patience aspect. We will help teach you some of the basics, normally I would teach you aura use as well…but I don’t believe that will be necessary. Your own experience must far surpass our own.”

 

Penny was directed to raise her hand and she did, her SOUL still out. Gaster let out a deep hum of approval and spoke up again. “Now feel your aura…but go even _deeper_ into the true CORE of your soul, your Anima. And push it out onto the palm of your hand.” Penny closed his hands and concentrated…slowly I could feel the power from her soul snake up from her chest to her to the palm of her hand. I grinned as a rainbow flame radiated from her hand. Penny watched in awe at the flame that represented a tiny fragment of her SOUL.

 

“Now reach for the larger part of your soul. Imagine what you can do with it and let out a basic spell. Imagine the outcome of that magic and let go.” Gaster places a small vase on the floor and gestured for her to start. Within a minute or so, wobbly purple lines wrapped around the vase entrapping it. Penny smiled gently at her success, and Frisk clapped wildly, even whistling too.

 

“Its, I can’t even begin to describe what this feels like. Though to me it reminds me of my weapons and how…” She frowned and there was a flash of _remembrance_ in her eye.

 

“Ahh, wait here.” Gaster teleported and the strings faded as Penny stopped holding them together. We waited for a minute as some distant rummaging could be heard from the lab building. I felt my heart stop as Gaster reappeared with her backpack in full repair. “I made some modifications to the weapons, the strings are made of magic now…wouldn’t want a magnetic current frying your electronics. Not like it would cause much damage now a days.”

 

I guess we don’t have to worry about Penny getting roasted in a _Pyrhra_. You know like a pyr?

 

…

 

Kind of feel like a dick now. Anyway Gaster was in a full on monologue now and Penny was intently listening to his spiel.

 

“Those of Perseverance specialize in various different magics, you have advanced binding and web magic, as well as an infinite array of trap spells, lethal or otherwise. There is the enhanced memory and intellect, allowing greater understanding of their subjects.” Penny nodded, taking in the information in stride; she was also testing some smaller spells making a web between her fingers.

 

“There is also a form of analysis almost to the point of a sixth sense. You can surely understand how useful that is.” Penny continued to play(study?) with her magic. A small blank array formed in the ground and when she threw a pebble, a glowing bear trap formed, crushing the rock.

 

I think I’m going to start studying magic as part of the College Gaster is setting up. Human magic isn’t exactly the same, but Gaster’s expertise would be very useful. I’ve just been…rather distracted, but I need to get back in the game. I mean magic has dozens of applications in my life for whatever I want to do. Quick Analysis alone will do _wonders_ for a career with the sciences.

 

“Now for the next lesson on what some call Kindness magic.” The magical pressure from Penny weakened and her webs faded. “Advanced shielding magic falls under their domain, though several other traits have weaker forms of it. Healing and reconstruction magic is another. There are also rooting spells which chain ones body to themselves.”

 

I had no damn clue what that meant exactly, but…I had experimented with my green(?) magic. I was limited to weak walls and shields, _very_ weak repair/healing magic. At best I could fix a small cut, or a repair a broken window. While Frisk could reattach an arm, and that actually happened due to some poor guys run in with a wild Veldrak.

 

As to what a Veldrak is they’re usually part of a genus called Torvoraptor within the family Boreonychidae, unrelated to Boreonykus. They typically fit the role of medium sized predator across much of North America, and Eurasia, though some mammals have managed to outcome them on the lower end. Mainly raccoons and skunks surprisingly enough. Wolves aren’t doing half bad either, but coyotes have been pretty much fucked over. Tigers and cougars have most likely gone entirely extinct unfortunately displaced by the similarly sized species.

 

They’re distant cousins to our talking, sapient Draks separated by over a million years of evolution, as well as a rapid burst of genetic mutation around 6973 years ago. What that meant for how they came to be, I had little to no clue. Oh forget to mention the Veldrak that guy encountered was 7 _meters_ long, so uh yeah…he’s lucky to be alive.

 

 _OWW!_ I flinched as I felt a small fit open up on my hand. Gaster had cut my hand!

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I yelled at him as he gestured for Penny to _do_ something. She closed her eyes and placed her hand in my bleeding one. I tasted _green_ for some reason, and my hand felt like it was under cool running water. Penny let go of my hand, and smiled sweetly at me.

 

“Better!” I couldn’t help but grin at her innocent expression.

 

“Heh…better.” Penny looked suitably proud of herself and even formed a small set of barriers formed into the shape of a chair. Gaster looked positively astounded and was taking some more notes, muttering under his breath the entire time.

 

“Now I believe you have the honors, to demonstrate Justice?” I felt a smirk come on and pointed to a holographic target. Another target shot up next to it for Penny to practice on.

 

“Justice magic are for who _must_ seek out truth, the color of law enforcers. Justice magic is specialized in long-range combat with projectile magic and supernatural marksmanship. The traits have some limited forms of spy craft with an all seeing eye of sorts. Combined with other magic and you can create a near perfect agent…at least theoretically.” I felt an odd sense of pride as Penny’s eyes lit up. She was eager to learn and I was eager to teach her what little I did know.

 

“As to _how_ to activate it, just remember that feeling, that _need_ to bring justice, to fight injustice, and protect the weak.” Both Penny and Shepherd lifted a finger to a target. Amira was doing well and the air _crackled_ as two bursts of magical plasma shattered the solid holograms.

 

“Not bad…” I congratulated with a “Sensei,” kind of voice and nodded sagely at their effort. I frowned as Penny let out a speculative “hmm,” she placed her backpack back on and I told everyone to step back once I realized what she was going to do. Gaster smirked and formed a hologram that took the shape of a…

 

Paladin Mech…the massive killing machine was almost 20 feet tall, and whirred as its holographic mechanisms shifted around. Gaster input some more command and a _dozen_ mechs were summoned.

 

“I’m out!” Amira backed away from the fight, while Penny only moved up even closer.

 

“Now it’s time to work on your Patience, child of metal. Now stand your ground and _wait._ ” A see through box formed around the robot girl, and the machines _fired._

 

A cacophony of sound rocked our senses as a barrage of weak missiles, and plasma blast battered the blue-boxed shield. It cracked under the pressure but continued to hold for several seconds. I crossed my arms as our view was blocked by a kicked up dust cloud.

 

It wouldn’t be over so easily…

 

From the dust, Penny emerged with a small half smile on her face. She sighed and two-dozen swords emerged in a rotating circle. The swords shifted in color, shining in all of her traits except for Red. Six swords for each of her traits, and I felt a bubble of magical power emerge from the newly rebuilt robot. A red string bound the swords to her body, and the rebuilt weapons moved erratically. She gave Gaster and me an unreadable look.

 

Six purple swords shot out hundreds of strings immobilizing the dozen 10 ten robots. Six blasts of blue magic smashed three mechs to pieces and crippled another, the motors nearly whirring themselves apart. One mech _leaped_ into the air out of its confinement bringing a downward punch. A single shield formed from six swords blocking it, but shattered in the process. A yellow laser barrage destroyed the fourth one, while the attacking robots armor was melted to slag. The hard light shattered to pieces once they were defeated. She took four hits to the face by the mechs and I flinched as her aura dropped to sixty percent.

 

Frisk _exploded_ away, forming a dozen meter wide shield as a blast of wind and dust flew away from Penny’s fists. I steeled my stance, my _Integrity_ keeping my footing in the quake that followed. Sweat fell down Frisk’s forehead as she strained to keep her magic flowing. I spit as Amira’s hair flipped onto my face… and she lightly tapped my head to remove it. Her expression was sheepish and I sighed.

 

The smoke cleared for the second time, and I blanched at the small crater left behind, the mechs nothing more than dissolving nite of coded light. Penny crouched onto one knee. She was feigning heavy breathing though she did look she had expended a large amount of energy. Gaster shut off the remaining hologram with a satisfied look.

 

“An excellent start, but nowhere near the limits my calculations indicate.”

 

Dear god? Just how strong can a Mage get then? Even if the simulations aren’t as tough as the real thing, she took seconds to take them all out. I mean, I guess it makes sense, I have effectively no training but I’m almost as strong as a first year Beacon student. I can imagine that if _they_ had magic, that things would even out rather quickly.

 

 _RING!!_ Amira flinched as what sounded like a phone call interrupted the awed silence. She scrambled away with some hesitation, Gaster nodded though he had _certain_ look on his face. Almost like he knew something that nobody else did.

 

“That…was kind of rude we didn’t even get to show off Bravery.” Chara had a look of disappointment on her face and I patted her head. She grumbled but let me be for the moment. I felt my frown deepen, as I thought about what I should do. Chara growled as I tugged on her hair and I let go immediately.

 

I can’t just stand around and do nothing anymore, because something is _going_ to give. First we had Penny, then a creature of Grimm, and whatever the hell is going on with Amira.

 

Asriel was right…something is coming.

 

***

 

“Still have no idea what the hell I’m doing here.” Asriel Flowey muttered to himself as he hopped over strange terrain. He had felt a strange _entity_ that was making him paranoid. It was like several people _other_ than the four human SOULS were watching him. One gaze felt nostalgically motherly while a second was more like they wanted a meal ticket or a deal. The third seemed _heroic_ and disgusted with themselves as if they had made a terrible mistake.

 

He had wandered away into a deep valley and had nearly pissed himself when a black-scaled raptor/trex esque _thing_ ambushed him. It… _she_ didn’t try to eat him, mistaking him for a bomb _somehow_. The 10 foot tall being had let him alone, and had given him a cookie as compensation. _Now why the heck a giant dinosaur had a cookie on hand he didn’t want to know._

 

“This was a stupid idea…” Flowey heard footsteps behind him, and dozens of bullets cracked against every bit of the ground around him. He coughed as shiver ran down his stem, having taken an experimental 8% dose of monster Dust. He was now at 21% complete and could already feel the difference. _I feel…alive._ Flowey closed his eyes, as the voices grew stronger, the human souls chattering happily.

 

He felt a smile at their happiness, a piece of Asriel rising to the surface of Flowey’s mental ocean. But even then he felt uneasy, and was constantly on guard waiting at any moment for an attack.

 

“ **GRAHHH!** ” Flowey ducked under the arm of a strange beast, an ape the size of a small building swinging its arm in anger. The bone masked being roared and swung a black blur right at the shocked prince of thorns.

 

“ **AWOO!** ” Flowey gaped as a flying wolf man beast slashed overhead. A single bullet pierced its spine, crippling it. That gave the greater ape beast the opening it needed to crush the flower.

 

_CRACK!_

 

“Son of a… **MY POT!** ” Asriel _raged_ and dived into the hard ground. Drilling into the earth, he rooted himself and _grew._ Pinpoint vine missiles shot out from the ground and the creature of Grimm roared as the attacks carved out marks across its dense skin. It roared calling for more of its brethren, and distant calls replied to the powerful being of darkness. Flowey squinted his eyes as he peaked up from his underground abode. He would have paled if he could as two more Beringels joined the first accompanied by ten times their number in wolves and bear demons.

 

 _What the hell are these things?_ Flowey thought to himself, shivering as the terrified thoughts of four humans vibrated in his mind. The Grimm grew more frenzied and instantly charged. The ground rumbling as their appendages rammed against the ground. Flowey quieted the voices and with a sneer, swept three wolves and two bears aside. A crack of breaking bone and the sound of tearing hide echoed, the monsters crashing to the ground motionless.

 

“Too easy, nowhere near as tough as a human or even a monster…but then…why do these _things_ feel.” His eyes widened as a larger and bonier bear easily 4 meters tall on its hind limbs, slashed with foot long claws.

 

‘Let us help you…’ Flowey twitched when _Kindness_ spoke to him, the urgency in their tone easy to hear. ‘That is why we stayed…we can help.’ Flowey sighed and a green barrier suddenly blocked a three meter long black feather. A shadow circled around the flower like a spectre of death. The shadow grew closer, and closer. The other Grimm grew even more excited bellowing in a demonic victory shout. Blood curdling howling, ear-shattering roars, and guttural growls signaled the arrival of a monster.

 

Larger than Asgore, larger than the house, larger than a plane…

 

“ **CAWWW!!** ” Flowey was nearly ripped out of his roots as two football field wide wings flapped kicking up a dust storm. The four SOULS within Asriel pulsed as the crow like monsters gave him a fear-inducing glare.

 

The Elder Nevermore had arrived…

 

***

 

_Observation: Hibernation estimate: 251 years. Last command 3 years ago. Uncorrupted resisting. War of attrition lost. Primary target location unknown._

_Response: Annoyance._

_Orders: Kill Uncorrupted. Regroup. Locate Primary Target._

 

***

 

_—Play Hate (Instrumental Mix) by Vetrom—_

 

The massive Grimm leaped down, almost taking off Flowey’s head. He shrieked again and arrogantly fires off dozens of pellets landing a direct hit. The Grimm shrugged them off, and lazily cored through the ground with its feathers.

 

Flowey had overestimated his current power level, and underestimated the far more intelligent than expected monster. He surged through the ground in desperation as the ancient one followed with a bored expression. The massive demons 400 plus foot wingspan blotted out the sky overhead.

 

Was he imagining it, or had the large _thing_ started grinning? It didn’t matter as he formed a tornado of fire to scorch the creature. The creature impossibly hovered in midair and with a single twitch batted away the tornado, receiving only minor burns with the block.

 

 _That’s impossible!_ Asriel picked up the pace, leaving an easy trail to follow, a deep furrow in the ground acting like a beacon. Instead of directing his energy toward the amazingly strong Grimm, Asriel took out its weaker lackies.

 

“AWOO—GRK.” One Beowolf gurgled as a spine pierced its vulnerable throat. Three more were torn apart by bullets, and with a shout over a dozen bullets made their mark leaving only the gigantic ape Grimm. Asriel looked around the strange wasteland, he had travelled maybe forty or fifty miles yet this desert like landscape existed. He held back a scream as he cut his stem on sand melted into sharp glass.

 

“This place doesn't make any sense! Unless…” He sensed with his inherited plant abilities. Weak radiation was emitting from the entire valley and he realized where he was. _A nuclear detonation?_ Asriel wondered as he kept fleeing from his jumbo jet sized pursuer.

 

He didn’t have time to speculate further as the ground exploded around him. The Grimm was eerily calm, despite firing off a feather macross. Each hit, one of dozens left smoking craters like the epicenter of artillery.

 

‘Please listen…our power can defeat the Corrupted.’ Asriel flinched but nodded, not seeing any other way to stop the terribly powerful monsters. Asriel glowed and he felt his power raise to better match his opponent. The ancient Grimm stopped, hovering in the air. Its expression became analytical and it subtly gestured to the three gorilla Grimm to attack.

 

***

 

_Observation: Tertiary Target possesses human SOULS._

 

_Secondary Observation: Traces of Determination line it’s organic body._

 

_Hypothesis: Tertiary Prime is Determination experiment_

 

_Standing Orders: Find Prime Target and bring to REAPER._

 

_Order: Single BLUE Barrage. Then disengage._

 

***

 

Asriel had more than quintupled in size, now meeting the Beringels eye to eye. He smirked as a single swipe of his vine cracked the huge gorillas skulls open. One dissolved into dusty mist while the second and third got back up.

 

As one deranged ape leaped and brought down its fist, a wave of blue shattered the bindings of it bodies. It imploded into a cloud of gas, leaving no trace of its existence other than the damage it had caused. The third one remained still, observing and learning from its kins failures. _Big mistake, you damn dirty ape!_

 

 **“Gotcha bitch!”** Asriel unleashed two orange bus sized fists, and crushed the young ape under the force of a barge crash. He chuckled as the Grimm faded into dusty wind, leaving nothing just like his brethren. His instincts screamed at him, as a dark presence made itself known.

 

The Grimm was still only hovering, a faint hint of blue outlining its massive aerodynamic body. The red glare in its eyes shifted to _blue_ , and Asriel flinched as over a hundred massive feathers flew out. But instead of finding himself impaled, they were lingering, almost _hungering_ for his blood. He felt a chill run down his sp—stem, as _Integrity_ flowed through the Grimms nonexistent veins. The magic felt _unnatural_ and broken, twisted by anger, rage, and hatred. Then before he had a chance to flee gravity increased a hundredfold and the ground liquified under his feet. Asriel shrieked forming a bubble to protect him from the scorching lava drowning him.

 

The Grimm flapped its wings taking off into the lower cloud cover. It soared in the direction of the vast Canadian Grass Sea fading out into the distance.

 

_Need to…warn them._

 

_Will…will…will…_

 

Even with the power of four SOULS, Asriel faded away into darkness …

 

***

 

‘Red is that you?’ A suave and _angry_ voice broke through the only blackness of Asriel Dreemurr's sleep.

 

‘Not at all…but you’re lucky we’re both dead young man.’ A motherly voices tone changed into a growl, a threat implied in the tone.

 

‘I failed…so _stupid_ , and I left him with only a…’ A third person spoke, and the drowsiness began to fade.

 

Asriel grumbled and opened up his eyes, stiffening up as he felt _four_ pairs of eyes on him. He shook his petals at the thought, scanning the room and finding nothing unusual.

 

 _What was I doi—,_ he shot up in the air, as everything flooded back in. He gripped some rocks as he noticed a cracked open lab door that radiated cold. He didn’t need a weapon, but it wouldn’t hurt either. He began to crawl lightly on his bruised roots, and hisses as the pain came back. He had a scowl on his face, as he looked around the broken down lab, sniffing the rancid smell of human corpses.

 

There were a great number of flickering computer screens and his curiosity got the better of him. Asriel sat comfortably on a rotting swiveling chair and read what looked like logs.

 

_Entry 3_

 

_Hybridization experiment complete success…a medium sized Tyrannosauridae base with genetic inputs from Dromaeosauridae, unknown Enantiornithes species, various Abelisaurid species, and Therizinosauridae. The specimens are growing rapidly, and learning their innate abilities quickly as well. They average around 3 meters in height, and 1000 kilograms in weight. Fast, powerful, and intelligent is an excellent fit for their intended roles. Their dark scales, and resemblance to wild animals is enough to stop deliberate attacks by the black beasts._

 

The rest became illegible as the screen faded to black, and Asriel scowled in irritation. When he turned around however…

 

“AHHH!” The flower fell out of his resting spot as he came face to face with a man in top hat, wearing girly makeup. Standing behind him were two ethereal women, on in her mid twenties whose face was obscured by a billowing white cloaks. The other much more conspicuous, wearing a strange Spartan esque armor, and a shirt skirt that just looked off place.

 

“Who the hell are you!?” He was inches away from attacking the three humans until a cry from the four human SOULS stopped him.

 

‘Be patient…they can be of use.’ The patience SOUL attempted to convince the flower. He scowled but schooled his expression at the uncomfortable looks on the human’s faces. He reached out with a vine, waiting for one of them to shake his hand. The hooded woman was the first to oblige, and the whole mismatched group was left shocked as she phased though.

 

“Oh…guess you’re all dead.” Asriel said nonchalantly making everyone except the hooded women flinch. The only man of the group clenched his fists, and his easy charming smile fell into a grimace. The girl collapsed to her knees, and Asriel could hear harsh admonishments under her breath.

 

“Well then…” The man didn’t say anything else, while the girl only continued to panic and was inches away from sobbing her heart out. The older women turned to face Asriel. He flinched as bad memories poured in at the familiar structure of her face. Asriel let out a deep breath; he would not allow himself to be scared that easily. Not after all he had been through, not after all _he_ had done.

 

“What’s your name?” Her voice was kind and gentle reminding him of a younger Toriel. He could tell, that as motherly as she acted, that she wouldn’t hesitate to fight if it came down to it.

 

“Fl—Asriel.” Asriel stumbled on his name for second, and the women tilted her head. Asriel didn’t want to talk about his stumble with a random dead person, and waited.

 

The silver eyed women jolted up. “Ah yes please call me Summer Rose. These two would be…hmm Roman Torchwick and Pyrrha Nikos.” Both the party members stopped any previous activity, and became suspicious. The woman was uncaring for their looks and gave the prince a smile.

 

He smiled back…subconsciously and then decided to test something. All three shivered as three hearts appeared, their bodies becoming translucent. Summer’s SOUL was red, the man’s was purple, and the Spartan’s SOUL was yellow.

 

‘Pretty convenient…’ Asriel ignored the boisterous Bravery soul and had a new idea.

 

“ _I have a proposition for you._ ” Asriel's smile widened as the older women and he synchronized.

 

***

 

From a distance a large cursorial omnivorous archosaur stealthily followed the muttering talking flower. The sapient life form had been curious after meeting him on the edge of Radia Valley, and had decided to follow him. She had hidden from sight as the monstrous Grimm attacked the prince. Eventually once the coast was clear she had dived into the magma to retrieve the little flower and brought him to the lab. Her aura had blocked the damage just long enough to keep herself and the flower from being burned alive. Now he was speaking to someone on an oddly durable block phone.

 

“Yes I know Chara and Frisk are going to be pissed! But I _need_ to do this, that _demon_ is a monster! It’s as big as the dang CORE and could use MAGIC! I think it might be…” The theropod stopped listening as one name stuck out in her mind. Her five fingered hand grasping a branch and shattering it under her strong grip.

 

 _I’m so sorry;_ the female was overwhelmed by guilt for a mistake that resulted in unneeded death and destruction. She crept along, her chromatophores allowing her to easily blend in in the forest surrounding them. Her jaws snapped in feigned irritation, the guilt-stabbing deep into the core of her SOUL.

 

She had been the one to start the awakening of The Morrigan all those years ago after all.

 

 


	15. Interlude 1.1 An Orcastra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to add Interludes between some chapters that will focus more on the slice of slice section of the story. The calm moments between periods of great strife or change, violent or otherwise. They will be between 1 and 4 thousand words in length so you'll know the difference. They will focus more closely on the perspectives of other characters on some occasions. 
> 
> So please enjoy.

**Interlude 1.1 An _Orcast_ ra**

 

Chara had been sulking around the house for two days after Asriel had run off to to Grass Sea. A massive grassland spanning from the Colorado Rockies all the way to the kelp forests of the Arctic. I kept trying to convince her to move, and get out a little to no avail. Not even telling her that he was still getting treatment was enough to snap her out of her mood. Frisk was getting worried and our guest had been busy with more calls, as well as picking up a worrying amount of ammonia, as well as space grade materials which confirmed my suspicions.

 

 _But_ I didn’t feel in the mood to dealing with Shepherd’s shit, Chara’s wellbeing was more important. So I nudged the pouting couch potato, waiting for her to respond. She grumbled and I sat next to her, and sheever so _slightly_ leaned in my direction. I brought her in closer and she sighed dramatically.

 

“ _Ahh…_ what’s the matter?” I asked with a sarcastic lilt, a smirk being donned on my face with pride.

 

“Why did he have to suddenly leave like that? Especially to go after a Grimm…that _terrifying!_ You heard what he said! As big as an entire damn football stadium!” Chara threw her hands up, and balled her fists, frustration and anger clouding her mind.

 

“Hmm…I think you need a break and I have just the idea.” Chara looked at me like I was stupid and I shrugged happily. This was going to be good.

 

“Ugh fine…”

 

***

 

“The Orca Orchestra? The hell is this?” Chara muttered in bewilderment at the poster, depicting six Orcas wearing rather large top hats. We had already entered the bayside theater and Frisk was wearing a simple red frilly dress. Unnecessarily fancy but utterly _adorable,_ it made me think we should go out and get some more…you know show off a bit…

 

I’m being weird again aren’t I…never mind that.

 

“Well…it's a show the Whale People put out around August where some Orca plus their partners put on…well an Orchestra.” Frisk simply explained and Chara’s brows scrunched as another question came to mind.

 

“Partners…?”

 

“Oh I can answer that friend!” Penny had joined us too, and her loud outburst had drawn some eyes for a moment. “The Ikan Paus tribe have a lovely ritual where a child will bond with a young Orca, to hunt the various large fish within the Pacific Ocean. The Orca will lure the fish, while the humans will then net them, or spear them depending on the fish. The ritual will be not be completed until the final trial…may be the most dangerous hunt possible.”

 

“How so…” Chara had become invested in the conversation, her curiosity getting the better of her. Not that, that was a bad thing.

 

“They will hunt a giant descendent of Great Whites…” Chara’s eyes had widened at the knowledge. A hologram formed showing an oddly fat great white. It closely resembled a basking shark, with predatory features added on. It had the usual black and white coloration but was rather stubby nosed. Which made sense, you can’t just scale an animal and expect it to just work out. Animals look the way they do for a reason.

 

“Well…that’s…really freaking _badass._ ” Oh it really is badass as hell my tiny red eyed friend.

 

“Shh…the show is going to start.” The stage was replaced by a deep pool connected to the ocean and I fidgeted in my seat. 30 waves of water revealed 30 Orcas, with their partners riding on top of them and relatively dry. In the center of the pool was a solid platform for the humans, filled with a number of instruments. All in all they made an Orchestra of 60 members total.

 

“sup…”

 

 _JEEBUS!!_ What the _hell_ sans!! Our punny skeleton man had startled me, showing up behind me. He had his usual smile on his face, and I palmed my chest feeling my heartbeat racing.

 

“What do you want?” My tone was dry, having gotten sick of his shit. If anything his grin had widened.

 

“oh nothing just that i made a few requests of the Orchestra for a song about…a week ago i think?”

 

What have you done sans?! He pointed my head back to the huge pool of water. We had nearly front row seats, right in what would likely end up being the splash zone. Frisk came double prepared though, her dress was magically water resistant and she had formed a green shield just in case. The pool was churning as the gigantic aquatic mammals circled around their excitement rather obvious.

 

One gazed right into my eyes and I was startled by the twinkle of mischief within their eyes. With a single swat of his tail, a wave of water wet my clothes and I was left grumbly. The Orca let out a mix of whistles and clicks almost like laughter and I pouted.

 

The samba line of giant whales stopped and I heard the sound of wood against wood as the conductor a young Polynesian Singpaporean mixed young man tapped his conductor cane/stick.

 

“Okay but what did you—.” A _familiar_ theme song started to play and I gave sans the most annoyed look I could muster.

 

The cheeky little bastard had convinced the group to play a remix of Megalovania. The song was the most beautiful mix of the Orchestra mixes and that time someone made a song with water and a spoon.

 

Everyone’s jaws had collectively dropped at the incredible mix of sounds and music. Violins played, the splash of water against whale fluke only adding to the unique experience. The room practically shook as the whales varied the frequency of their song.

 

And it didn’t stop at just Megalovania…he had passed them a bunch of different songs from…

 

Bonetrousle(Made Paps bawl like a baby at the beauty)

 

Spear of Justice…Undyne nearly got escorted out of the building when she almost shot a spear through the roof.

 

Asgore played…that was…a little awkward but it was _amazing,_ and I couldn’t forget their rendition of Death by Glamour.

 

An hour later and all of us had left astonished and mystified. I had recorded the entire thing, and the second I could manage two way communication…well I was going to get a _whale baleenced_ number of views. I would finally have my _porpoise_ in life. Everyone would _sea_ how _right_ whales were in being part of the natural ecosystem.

 

“That was…GREAT!” Chara’s mood had risen up from Davy Jones locker and she was jittering all over the place.

 

“SO BEAUTIFUL!” Papyrus hid his manly tears, and placed his hand in a weird salute on his chest. I grinned and ruffled Chara’s hair making her squeak like an adorable(if possibly murdery) mouse.

 

“You feel better?” I wanted to make sure she was alright. I had never taken the initiative like this before. I was always too…lazy, too unmotivated, yet felt an odd sympathy and empathy for other people despite the hard time I had in connecting with others. I was too… _depressed_ , like anything I did…wouldn’t change a thing. I could see the cliff that humanity was teetering on, and thinking I should just give up in ever _saving_ humanity.

 

But as I watched the spark of light in someone’s eye when we they were given even one act of kindness. How their stances would relax, their mood improve when I wanted to help them.

 

It was… _nice._


	16. Interlude 1.2 The Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This interlude was heavily inspired by a dubbed comic I read just look up fairy tale Undertale and you should find it.

**Interlude 1.2 The Princess**

 

“Watcha doing?” My first victim had arrived early, even if I couldn't see him with my eyes closed. I could hear the grin in his voice and I decided to reply, I couldn't keep my “prince” waiting. I opened one eye so i could see Brandon's expression once I’m done.

 

“Sleeping…” I answered easily, and he quirked his eyebrows at my response. He really needs to trim those bushes above his eyes. But if I say anything he’ll tell me to _leaf_ him alone

 

“Pretty sure there's no talking in your sleep.” He paused as if this situation was familiar, but he stopped. I would celebrate in my head my ultimate victory.

 

“Sleep-talking.” He replied with a quiet “of course.” and I hid my mirthful grin under my long sleeve. “And waiting…”

 

“For what?” I felt his warmth as he sat down next to me, and I took the opportunity to place my head on his lap. He brushed his fingers through my hair gently and almost giggled. But I kept my cool, not wanting to alert him more than necessary.

 

“A kiss.” I said in my most saccharine tone. He froze but didn't move away, but I knew I had lost my chance.

“Sorry kid but I’m fresh out of kisses.” He held up a bag of Kisses, and I held back another giggle. It would be untoward for a princess such as myself fall to such senseless humor. I stood up from his lap in my most royal pose, and brushed him off.

 

“Then I must look elsewhere for my prince.”

 

I heard a girly squeal just as I left the living room…

 

***

 

“HELLO FRISK!” I waved to happy pappy as he cooked a _something_ in Toriel’s kitchen while she was out. He was just putting down a bowl when I asked him if we could play a game.

 

“OF COURSE FRISK! NOW WHAT WILL WE PLAY?”

 

“You’re a prince and you have to rescue me since I’m the princess.”

 

“WHAT A SPLENDID IDEA!” I giggle as Pappy picked me up in his big bony arms. I laughed all the way as he leaped up the second story floor we had just put in for guest rooms. I gently bounced on a guess bed, and closed my eyes again.

 

“YES! I HAVE SAVED THE PRINCESS FROM A DASTARDLY FOE! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus paused as a question came to him. “UHH… NOW WHAT?”

 

I grinned mischievously as his question. “The prince needs to kiss the princess.”

 

“KISS? BUT I DON'T EVEN HAVE LIPS!” A single application of Puppy Dog Eyes© was all I needed to get what I wanted. I opened an eye as Papyrus bent down, and felt anticipation make me shake.

 

But just before my goal was reached…

 

“ARF! ARF!” That… _scary_ dog had made his return…

 

“YOU AGAIN?! I’M GOING TO BONE THAT DOG!!”

 

…

 

…

 

I think sans needs to give his brother the talk…

***

 

“GAHH!” Brandon shrieked as I smushed him under my weight and he gave me a weak and ineffectual glare. I gave him a sad look knowing it would get under his skin. His glare faded and he now looked more sympathetic.

 

“Didn't find your prince huh?” I sadly nodded to his question. And in his moment of distraction made him a princess. “So am _I_ a princess now?” I nodded and his expression shifted as he remembered something.

 

“MWHA!” Brandon became a christmas tree ornament, and covered his face with his hand. I reveled in the embarrassed groans and muttered curses.

 

“Pfft-Hahaha hahaha!”

 

I WIN!

 

***

I tried to play the princess game with Mettaton but it didn't take long fo him to go all diva on me. But at least Mom got a lot of cute pictures of me in my new prince suit. So that's pretty cool.

 

So I moved on in my kissing spree, no longer constrained by the boundaries and rules of a sleeping princess. My attempt with Napstablook was a complete failure and I ended up making him a little sad. I managed to lift his spirits though. I managed to then ambush Amira and got a good taste of her left cheek. She ended up chasing me down the street for a _good_ five minutes. Then she realized she was hunting down a kid for playing a harmlees game…

 

River Person was a bust… too since they don't actually have a face so there's nothing to kiss but air. Gaster and sans worked perfectly though, and the both of them won’t look me in the eye. I managed to get one in on Monster Kid. He’s face is really rough and scaly, kind of hard to kiss really…

 

But _Chara…_ now that one was _awesome._ Unlike most everyone else I got to kiss her on the _lips._

 

I opened the door to my home and closed the door behind me as I entered into my room. There was some cool toys as well as something Gaster and Brandon called a Nintendo 3DS. I decided to play a game on it.

 

“Fire Emblem Awakening huh? I inserted the game cartridge and waved my legs back and forth.

Hopefully it was good…

 

***

 

“Little weirdo…” I muttered fondly as I noticed her sleeping on the floor. Small beads of drool left her mouth, and I closed the game down. Thankfully for Frisk she had stopped just after a mission so she wouldn't lose any progress.

 

I gently picked up up from the hard floor, it wouldn’t do her any good to cramp up her back. She was still _way_ too young to have a bad back. She breathed quietly, snuggling in closer.

 

“You’re a determined little bugger… but I guess that’s what makes you, _you.”_

 

But why did I have the feeling I’ve seen this dance and song before almost like…

 

_Tug…_

 

I turned as Frisk pulled my shirt and…

 

“MWAH!”

 

“GAHHH!” I dropped her on her bed, and let out another internal (and external) scream.

 

“DOUBLE POINTS!” Frisk threw her hands in the air, bouncing on her bed with childish glee.

 

“Well… that's enough of that… time to go to bed I’m going to Gaster’s lab to pay him a visit.” I stiffly replied, with a twitch on my right eye acting up.

 

“Hehehehehehehe!” Frisks just kept laughing.

 

“ _And_ I’ll have to explain to him, how a weird human keep _kissing_ my face cus she thinks it’s funny.”

 

“Hehehehehehehehehe!!”

 

Darn kid… stupid Undertale comics and their ability to tell the future…


	17. Interlude 1.3 Saving Private Shepherd

**Interlude 1.3** **Saving Private Shepherd**

 

“Ugh…” Shepherd woke up from her slumber with a cough. She looked around the unfamiliar room, with a small sigh. _Still have no fucking clue what’s going on._

She thought privately to herself, pushing off her tiger pattern blanket, leaving her in a low cut black tank top, and an actual set of Batman pajama pants Toriel had forcefully made her buy and wear. Not like she wanted to wear so little clothing but it had been embarrassing to ask a stranger for clothes after hers had been… _stolen._ Also it was rather funny to see Brandon’s reaction and Shepherd couldn’t help to tease such an easy target.

 

Shepherd still asked herself how she had managed to lose most of her things to a sapient hyper predator the size of a bus. _I either really need to improve my spatial awareness, or that thing is a real monster._

 

Shepherd stood up and started picking out her outfit for the day. It had been easier to do now that Chara wasn’t moping.

 

“Hmm… what should I wear, the blue blouse or the red sweatshirt?.” The girl questioned herself, until an important detail came to mind. “Right…I’m going out to a _private_ meeting, as well as practice. So something loose to better move in it is.” She grabbed the red sweatshirt and paired it up with a pair of blue shorts; and within a minute was now ready to go.

 

Shepherd began her day with a well-balanced breakfast…three eggs with baked potato, and some Kale Tori was experimenting with. She ate quickly, not having time to doddle. She washed her plate, sticking out her tongue as she focused on the task at hand. She could tell Brandon was watching from the table, with a hint of curiosity. _I guess…he’s curious why I’m putting so much effort into washing plates._ She put her plates down…and balled her hands into fists.

 

“It’s time then…”

 

***

 _BOOM!!_ The ground shook as Shepherd used the bare rock of a dug up canyon, like a wave. The ground almost liquified as the ground parted like the Red Sea to comtinued to the water simile.

 

“YAAH!” Shepherd roared as she flowed over muddy rock, a surfboard formed of solid earth sitting underneath her bare feet. The area around her had been trashed by the continuous blast of churning earth and rock. She started to come to a stop, and with a flick of her wrist the water within the rock flowed outwards leaving a pile of slightly mushy dirt behind.

 

Shepherd placed her hands on her hips…admiring her handiwork. Entire multi ton pillars had risen up from her practice; shattered glass from superheated glass kept glowing with intense heat. Mud was splattered all over the small canyon, which itself had been expanded by dozens of feet, as Shepherd gleefully carved through the ground. The girl wiped away beads of sweat and moved on to her next element. She concentrated focusing on the inner _fire_ within her SOUL. A blue flame sputtered into existence in her right palm.

 

“Well I suppose it’s time to _heat_ things up?” She lowered into a stance and _exploded_ into action. Flames and heat were released from a series of high kicks and upper cuts. The flames were released onto a dozen highly flammable objects half of which began to burn while the other half were instantly turned into flaky ashes. Two flames leapt to life from her hands and she _flew_ up into the air, buzzing through the twists and turns of the small canyon.

 

She stopped the propulsion holding her up, and allowed herself to fall. She smirked as the ground drew closer, and a cloud of dust obscured her as she landed.

 

“Too easy…I’ve gotten stronger, _much_ stronger.” She talked into her hands as an unseen force blew the dust away. Her hands twitched and she took a deep breath in and out, calming her erratic heartbeat. “Yet I can barely summon more than a cleaning breeze.” She shook her head and her flames burnt even hotter than before. A tornado of rainbow fire blazed around her, the power _bending_ to her will. Dozens of flames scorched the world around her, as she repeated numerous katas.

 

“Hah!” Two knives of flame came to life, and in a sort of reverse grip she fought imaginary enemies.  She ducked under unseen blows, or knocked them over with a sweep of the leg. Then in their moment of weakness stabbed them with her weapons. She lifted up pillars of rock, throwing enemies into the air, a flick of her wrist summoned a 20 meter high wave of water, dredged up from an underground reservoir. She froze it solid, creating a virtual blizzard, sharpened further by the addition of glass lifted aloft by wind.

 

The blizzard tore through a maze of pillars, while the glass attack sputtered with the wind falling just short of even one pillar. She frowned but her expression was still a happy and excited one.

 

“Now…for the finisher.” Her motions became more flowing, and her hair stood up with the rising static in the air. Her smirk widened as no misfortunate events happened. Shepherd was trying to perfect this move for almost two years now, and she thought she was close. A spark of electricity emerged from her fingertips but just as the imbalance in the air came to a high crescendo….

 

_BOOM!!_

 

She was blown back by a multi colored explosion and she cried as her spine smashed against the hard canyon wall. She collapsed after forming an imprint in the stonewall, and let out a low wheeze. Her fists ground against the dirt, and her smirk had died and become an angry snarl.

 

“Dammit why can I do it!? After all this time, all this effort WHY!” Amira was edging in on a temper tantrum, and smoke and flames were emitted from her nose and mouth. “I’ve been working for years after those _bastards_ did what they did to mom! I _hate_ this.” She smashed a fist into the ground as her temper got the better of her. Shepherd was tired and confused, her anger and her need for vengeance clouding her mind.

 

‘Please let me help.’ Shepherd screamed internally as the infernal  _bitch_ in her head started talking after a week of blissful silence. ‘There is no need to be rude.’ The female voice was gentle in her admonishment-pissing Shepherd off even more.

 

‘Get…out.’ The spring has finally snapped.

 

‘Please…we nee—.”

 

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!” Shepherd’s temper finally _burst_ and an explosion of the elements was unleashed. The canyon was torn apart in seconds. A firestorm scorched and nearly melted the rock and sand, steam explosions punched through trees and wood. Water was shot out at high speed, acting as a magical water cutter.

 

Shepherd had collapsed to the ground once more, her entire body shivering. She retched, and her hand forcefully kept herself from throwing up her lunch. Tears started to drip out of the corners of her eyes, and her fists had clenched with their full power.

 

Metallic steps…echoed in the hole in the ground, and a tall and _familiar_ shadow waited patiently.

 

“Shepherd…?” A robotic voice imitated organic emotion, and offered their three-fingered hand to the angry girl. She took the offer, her hands shaking and her lip quivering. She looked up into the flashlight like head of a Geth unit, a tilt of its head to convey confusion.

 

“Human allies heartbeat elevating…high levels of stress and various human hormones.” Shepherd couldn’t help but snort at the almost innocent manner of geth speech. “Do you require assistance…? There have been no unseen issues with the mission. All necessary supplies have been acquired, provided by W.D Gaster of the Kingdom of Monsters.”

 

“I’m sorry…it’s just bad memories from…before.” The Geth unit’s antenna twitched, readjusting to meet the orbiting corvettes laser based signal.

 

“Your father’s death.” It was a statement rather than a question, but she nodded anyway. The two alien visitors remained quiet, the only sound being the chirping of unidentified bird species. With a wave of her hand a solid lump of chair shaped earth provided a comfortable rest for the weary women.

 

“Yeah…” She rubbed her forehead as if a headache was coming on. “Especially after yesterday.”

 

_—Flashback—_

 

“Hey Frisk wait up!” Shepherd shouted after Frisk, while they wandered around a golden field of flowers. Toriel had put her in charge after Frisk had asked to go back to Mount Ebbot to bring some Golden Flowers to plant. Brandon had been busy that day, sparring with Penny and Undyne to learn how to _actually_ fight. But it didn’t take the sunny little girl more than a half hour before she wandered off where she couldn’t see her.

 

“Please come back…I don’t want to tell your mom how you got eaten by a dinosaur.” Shepherd had become desperate and decided to try something since she was out of sight from everyone including Frisk. She sunk into a horse stance, and focused. She closed her eyes so she could visualize what she was ultimately looking for. _Now just focus…and stomp!_ In her mind's eye Amira saw the vibrations bounce off everything touching the earth. A technique perfected over many centuries but rarely learned by most, it was perfect for what she needed here.

 

Shepherd found Frisk’s signature planting some flowers near three rocks. She pursed her lips, finding the image intriguing and snuck up behind the young girl. Once she saw what Frisk was doing…

 

She froze…

 

Frisk was making a series of flower crowns, and placing them on three separate graves. She walked carefully not wanting to alert the girl to her presence. Frisk had a watery and sad smile on her face, and Amira could just about make out her words.

 

“Hey…mom, dad, grandma.” Her tone was the saddest she had ever heard the girl and she didn’t like it. Around everyone the girl was always happy and full of life, here the shining light in her eye was almost _dead._ “It’s been over three years huh? Sorry I was late…but I had a little bit of a detour and met some new friends.”

 

Shepherd could only watch, not wanting to ruin the needed moment for the girl. Frisk pulled out a photo, showing off her entire family. Toriel, Asgore, the skeletons, Chara, Flowey, Brandon…Red, Undyne and Alphys. Everyone was smiling, even the freaky flower with only a piece of his SOUL. The picture was stained by leaks of water from Frisk’s eyes.

 

She pointed to Red first… “Uncle Red is still kicking after all these, pretty cool right?” No one replied back, and her smile dropped. “This is Brandon…he well…he’s a good guy. He helped me out a lot, and I guess I helped him a lot too.” The clearing was deathly silent, and Amira felt the claminess of her hand more than ever.

 

“This is Gaster and Chara.” She pointed to the two in question. “They helped guide us through the Underground and kept us company. Gaster’s a scientist you see and…” Frisk’s stammer became a full on monologue; babbling to the graves about everyone she had met, and how they became her surrogate family.

Shepherd felt terrible for eavesdropping on such an intimate and private moment. The clearing was even quieter and she flinched when she noticed that Frisk was gone.

 

“Hey…”

 

“GYAAA!!” One of Shepherd’s hands lashed out in a chopping movement, cutting a small oak wood tree in half with pure force. The tree fell down to the forest floor, with nary a sound. She flushed at the look on Frisk’s face, and chuckled nervously.

 

“I’m sorry for sneaking up and listening in!” She bowed up and down her embarrassment getting the better of her. Frisk waved her off, despite the forlorn smile on her face, she looked almost happy. Like an old weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

 

“It’s fine. I already knew this was going to happen once I disappeared from your sight. Sorry.” Shepherd felt amusement that Frisk was apologizing rather than the other way around.

 

“Besides….I was just saying goodbye.” Shepherd twitched, taking a wary glance of the three graves. “I’ve been…so tired for a long time now, I _missed_ them so much.” Going unsaid was the fact, that Shepherd was much the same way. “I just want to _move_ on. And I think I’m ready.”

 

“That’s good.” Shepherd couldn’t follow the girl’s train of thought, not entirely agreeing with the girl’s ideas.

 

“So…can we go.” Shepherd nodded, her anxiety and awkwardness easy to read on her face. Frisk grabbed her by the hand, dragging her away form the nearly empty clearing.

 

As they left, Shepherd gave the graves one final glance.

 

_—Flashback—_

 

“I got spooked by that. I’ve been really unfocused and really sloppy. Man, mom would wring my neck if she was here, even with only one arm.”

 

“She probably would.” Shepherd gave Legion a look as Chara emerged from a rock _behind_ him. The crimson-eyed girl had the biggest smug grin she had ever seen on a twelve year old. Legion did nothing, even as the girl got within striking distance.

 

 _It would only take a second to knock her out. But they’re not idiots, they would know._ Amira growled, and flared her nostrils emitting even more smoke. Chara steepled her fingers as the supreme overload of smugness. Shepherd snorted at the stray thought, and thought out what to say.

 

“So…you’re both space aliens whose ship got stranded so you went down to the surface to get the right food for your friends.” Chara knocked her off balance and she sighed again.

 

“Dammit.”

 

“Meh…life happens, but other than being an alien you’re also crazy.”

 

“Hey!” Shepherd replied indignantly to Chara’s face, her eyes nearly edging on white for a split second.

 

“Yeah…right you were talking to yourself you…crazy…loon.” The girl had trailed off, disturbing Shepherd. She noticed that Chara was staring at something behind her.

 

“Oh you stupid c—.”

 

‘Please just stop! I’ve had enough of your—.’

 

Both spirit and woman were about to continue their _long_ conversation until a loud alarm rang from her Omni tool. Chara glanced at the tool and then at her as if asking “you going to answer that?”

 

Shepherd did so…

 

“So…uh Balak what’s up?” Shepherd was sweating buckets at the anger in her Batarian buddies voice.

 

“Oh…I’m not angry at you for once. This is a very unprecedented situation and the natives are more advanced than we expected.” Amira relaxed, relieved that her elder was not angry with her. “But your mother on the other hand…” She suddenly paled and looked ready to give up on life.

 

“I’m so dead.”

 

“Oh _definitely._ ”

 

“What did you want anyway?” A sudden flash of light was the answer to her question. From the open sky, the clouds parted as a _massive_ vessel flew through them. The ship was painted dull silver with blue paint on some areas of the bird of prey like ship. It resembled a sleek mix between a naval frigate and a fighter jet, nacelles glowing with pinkish red energy. The vessel was unarmed but still measured a half-kilometer in length, and everyone near it was nearly blown away by the intense impulse of its alien engines.

 

“That was what I was going to tell you. They sent a diplomatic vessel, a decommissioned Frigate with some fancy civilian mods added in.”

 

As Chara stared at the carrier sized spacecraft with a wide-open mouth of shock and awe. Shepherd let out a skeptical cough as the huge ship lazily floated high up in the air.

 

“Why? I’d think they would something a little more…well substantial. The last time we met an _early_ space faring civilization they sent a cruiser.”

 

“Well…” Shepherd narrowed her eyes as the male drawled out his reply. “There’s been some issues in the local galaxy.” Her tool widened into a 72-inch holo screen and her jaw dropped at what she was seeing.

 

There was a shaky camera that followed an unknown planet. Suddenly explosions rang out shaking the camera even more. The guttural language of Imperial Batarian contrasted with the more lyrical Batarian Common of the Federation. From off in the distance what looked like a _cruiser_ erratically twisted in the air before smashing into a small town. A mushroom cloud appeared shortly afterwards…and within a few seconds the footage cut out.

 

It shifted to another video and Shepherd paled as she realized who was in it. The footage played. The planet was clearly the clear and slightly radioactive skies of Tuchanka. There a congregation of Krogan gathered, with two leaders facing the other. One group was by far the largest, and appeared the best equipped. That side was led by a full-grown Urdnot, almost nine feet tall, the other was the piss colored scales of Weyrloc, and stood almost 11 feet tall.

 

“ _You sniveling Alien worshipping pyjack shits have stood on the throne for long enough ‘king’ Urdnot Wrex._ ” He waved to his small army with an arrogant insanity. “ _The Blood Pack will rule the stars…our throne made out of the bones of everyone in the galaxy!_ ” The Urdnot snorted and he lifted his heavy krogan shotgun, with a click the gun _shifted_ , getting bigger and bigger until…

 

It became a gigantic claymore, almost as big as Undyne’s entire body. A sonic boom followed as the krogan brought down the weapon. He smirked for a moment before his eyes widened. The entire _army_ had turned out to be a mere hologram.

 

 _“You…_ ”

 

“ _I’m coming for you my ‘King._ ” The army vanished and the video cut out as the king roared in pure rage.

 

A third wordless video showing a rather old and degraded Turian followed by…

 

Creatures of Grimm…they were different though, resembling the species of chitinous dog like aliens native to Palaven rather than Beowolves. The turians body was nearly entirely made out of crimson glowing cybernetics, and dozens of his own kind attempted to put him down. The man fingers grew to three times his body length, and a flash of light followed soon after.

 

The three-dozen turians remained completely still, until the traitorous Turian lightly blew on them. The soldiers flopped harshly to the floor, their bodies strewn apart like ribbons.

 

“ _I am Desolas…_ ” The video finally cut away…and there was a brief silence.

 

Chara easily summed up the situation.

 

“Well…fuck.”

 


	18. Book 2 Chapter Four: The Tipping Point...

**Book 2 Chapter Four: The Tipping Point…**

 

We all heard the ear blasting sonic boom as a shooting star fell down from the heavens above. It had been from the direction Chara had gone, having followed Shepherd the moment I let my guard down. I dropped everything, drinking the cup of water I had, from just finishing my upper body and cardio workout. I prepped for what I needed to do next and _leaped._ I crossed over 60 meters in each outward bound, shocking everyone just living their lives in town. Undyne was catching up quickly while Penny trailed us from the air, forming rocket jet boots as well as a pair of wings. sans and Papyrus were keeping up top, their eyes glowing blue as they practically flew.

 

The Dreemurrs were making their own leaps, and had actually passed all of us with their speed. I saw a glimpse of a worried Frisk clinging to Toriel’s back and I picked up the pace. Red had stayed behind, being one of maybe six or seven Magic users who had just popped up. Whatever militia the town could scrounge up, they did.

 

 _Focus!_ Need to get Chara somewhere safe first. After about a minute I saw _it._ On my downward drop, I saw the ship makes its way down to the surface. The ship reminded me of…well the Normandy, and that wasn’t a good thing. I saw a wrecked canyon, and took a breath.

 

 _Burst_ speed, _burst_ speed! I felt the world warp around me as I used my running magic to its fullest extent. I crossed the remaining 100 meter distance in just a fifth of a second and I landed face first into the side of the broken crack.

 

 _OH_ GOD _WHY_ did I think this would be a good idea! I felt a surge of wind, and detected a hint of ozone and filtered air. I picked myself up, holding my bruised ribs in pain. The once sunny blue sky was now overshadowed as the vessel hovered overhead. There was the sound of a door _whooshing_ open, regurgitating a smaller blocky shuttle. The shuttle just sunk down, like a piece of food falling into a jar of molasses. A shiver ran down my spine at the unnatural defiance of the laws of physics, and an almost familiar _pulse_ of…

 

With a slight tilt of my head I found Amira sheepishly lowered into some kind of stance as Legio—

 

…

 

…

 

I hate my life _ssoo_ much…

 

“Hey Amira…” I’m _never_ going to call Amira anything but that. She looked a little guilty for a moment, before her pupils shrunk as distant scream came from above.

 

“YOU!!” I had no idea what was going on anymore and I doubt that would change over the…rest of my entire life at this point.

 

“LITTLE SHIT!” From above a dark blur crashed into Amira’s face with all the force of a damn freight train. Legion(the actual freaking _geth_ ) was completely motionless, as if they had grown used to such things.

 

“GAHHH!! I’M SORRY!!” As the dust cleared, I felt confusion as I started to see double. But a better analysis told me that wasn’t true. The newcomer looked nearly identical to Amira, minus a few inches in every direction. She wore some form of US Marine like uniform, in coloration at least. It was actually the same N7 armor as used by the “game” Shepherd. I also noticed a Recon Hood magnetically attached to her hip. The biggest difference would actually be the heavily armored left prosthetic leg she had imbedded in her daughter’s gut. I decided maybe I should try to save the poor girl from her mother’s wrath.

 

“Uh…ma'am? Uh I don’t mean to be rude but could you get off my friend?” Shepherd was shaking her hand and waving her hands at me in warning. What exactly that meant I wasn’t sure, until her mother turned to face me with a blatant smirk on her face. She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that was _way_ too much like her younger daughter.

 

“Oh you must be the boy my little girl has run off with.”

 

I-I w-what? What the fuck is she going on about!?

 

“Mom... _please_ don’t you dare!” The older women wagged her finger at Amira, and sauntered over to me, leaving a groaning Shepherd in the dirt. I backed up and found a possible escape at the corner of my my eye.

 

I used Frisk as an adorable meat shield against the possible cyborg women. Frisk gave me a deadpanned look, and I gave her a shrug. Amira’s mom sized the both of us up. I managed to keep myself calm despite the embarrassing statement, but I still felt the heat on my neck, ears, and face. Amira was similarly flushed and was covering her face with the curtain of her hair.

 

“Well…honey.” The older women, directed her voice to her daughter. “At least you know how to pick em.” I felt slightly ashamed, and ended up pulling Frisk into an odd back hug. Her teasing smirk fell into a smaller but also more genuine smile. Frisk appeared to have an idea, and lifted her hand up into ready to shake position.

 

“Hi! I’m Frisk and _today_ I am Brandon’s microphone! Oh! And he says hi too!” Amira’s mother was practically _beaming_ and at any minute I bet she would try to pinch Frisk’s cheeks.

 

“Uh yeah! I do!” Frisk narrowed her eyes and shushed me, placing her finger on my lip. I stuck out my tongue and she shrieked, trying and failing to get out of my grasp

 

“EWW! EWW! EWW!” My grin stopped as I suddenly couldn’t move. I felt a pulse of _green_ surge into my body. I was _rooted_ down, my own body turning against my SOUL and not letting me move. The last time I felt like this was when we fought Undyne… _oh._

 

Five seconds later and I was free to move, Frisk’s accidental magic having worn off quickly. A line had risen between the former military(?) women’s brows, but she plastered a neutral expression.

 

“Right well I’m the little _scamp’s_ mother if you didn’t already guess.” Amira’s scowled as her mom pulled her into a side hug and nuzzled her cheek. This despite having kicked her in the stomach no less than three or four minutes ago. She placed her left hand on her hip and gave me a radiant smile. “Hannah Shepherd at your service. It’s nice to meet the people who let her into _their_ home.” Near the end she turned up the volume and everyone else came out of the woodworks.

 

Asgore was the first to come out and at his approach Hannah’s eyes narrowed into slits resembling a cat. Toriel trailed behind him, with Gaster having showed up when I wasn’t around. Papyrus and sans were both sitting on a precarious ledge, and our lovable goofball jumped. Hannah looked rather appraising as he dropped down 20 meters with only a four or five milliliter long crack to show for it. sans did the same but much, _much_ slower. He was moving _maybe_ half a meter per second, and she turned away not bothering with him.

 

But she didn’t let her guard down for a second…there was a sense of not anxiety. Maybe like hyper awareness, like she was waiting for a possible attack.

 

“BONZZZAII!!!” A sound like cannon fire shook our bodies as Undyne fell from a 100 meters straight down. Instead of Papyrus’s controlled landing, the ground seemed to be repulsed by the physics breaking landing of the Spear of Justice. I could hear Alphys mumbles and retches as she slunk off her girlfriends back. Undyne’s wide grin disappeared and she whispered a gentle apology to her sick girlfriend.

 

“Interesting…” Amira rubbed her arms at her mother’s odd reply. I walked over to her mother. I know what I needed to do.

 

“I understand at least one reason you’re here.” Hannah Shepherd quirked a brow. “To bring Amira and her ‘friends’ back home, but why make such a big fuss about it. Why bring a ship that size?” Her smile faded at my questions and her stance weakened surprising me. I’m an expert in fighting but I know someone of her caliber wouldn’t get caught off guard unlike something has gone _terribly_ wrong.

 

“My…galaxy is at the brink of intergalactic war.” She stated plainly and I felt a terrified chill run down my spine.

 

“ _War?!_ ” Both King and Queen replied to the horrible answer with shock and horror. Hannah nodded sadly, and ran her left hand through her hair. Her frustration easy to read on her face. Frisk had looked like something had crawled down her throat and died, her eyes dimming with an unidentifiable _feeling._ I offered my hand and she gladly took it, her body shivering…and I remembered that her hometown with her… _relatives_ had been destroyed by war, and her family had lived through it most of their lives.

 

Now _this!_ If someone on the opposing side finds us…

 

We would all probably die… there are too few people living here, a total amount of 44.7 million including everyone who _wasn’t_ human. Just one colony from their galaxy could have 10 to even a 100 times the population and they have _thousands_ of colonies. Heck since this is a Shepherd I bet the Hegemony could just pick us up and e—

 

 _Enslave_ us all…

 

“B-Brandon?” My grip on Frisk’s hand had tightened and she looked grossed out at how sweaty they were.

 

“Uh Gaster?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“How many CORES do you think you can build?” Everyone around me looked puzzled at my tense question, though Chara who still looked a little shell shocked seemed to have an idea of what I was asking.

 

“About 12…maybe 36 later, though it seems like an excessive use of power?” I quirked a brow at pointed to the half kilometer formed warship above.

 

“How much power do you think that ship uses Gaster?” He looked curious and with snap pulled out an energy measuring device. Basically a combination of a heat sensor, a house electric meter, and a magical energy meter. All compacted into the size of an iPhone 4.

 

His face morphed into shock and fear. “That’s impossible…if these readings are correct, then that ship outputs two orders of magnitude more energy than the CORE!”

 

It’s even worse than expected…so potentially around a 700 terawatt-hour reactor. On a ship maybe twice the mass of an aircraft carrier. I can imagine their larger ships output _far_ more power than even that. So a single pirate could just kill us all from orbit. I have my suspicions though, that level of power can't be sustained indefinitely without boiling the crew alive or frying the electronics to nothingness if it's an AI.

 

“Alphys how is Project SuperLaser going?” Alphys fidgeted and her gaze lingered for a brief moment on Amira and her mom.

 

“U-Uh it’s around 97% complete and with the help of some human diagrams on their pulse lasers should be done in another week.”

 

Gaster nodded decisively. “Build a hundred of them.”

 

Alphys expression said it all…

 

“But the energy output needed…” Gaster wouldn’t listen to her protest and in fact, he pulled out a holo phone, starting on what looked like a surface to orbit defense system. Alphys sighed, palming her face and adjusting her glasses. “Okay fine…”

 

“That shouldn’t be necessary…but frankly it _would_ ease the burden on our ships. We can’t provide more than about six frigates and 2 light destroyers…”

 

“Why do you call them frigates? Isn’t space different from the ocean?” Bit of a hypocrite when I’ve done the exact same thing…and probably still am.  Hannah shrugged, with a slight smile, looking at me like I was a cute puppy…which was kind of insultingly condescending.

 

“Most spacecraft are modular in some respect, in many cases no two ship are exactly alike depending on what the mission ultimately is. The modifications are minor of course, else we would have a rather difficult time repairing vessels. For example one Frigate, such as this one may have most of its weapon systems removed, and all power circulating to the shields and engines. She paused for a breath, and kept talking once more. “Another may have almost no shields, made for maximum speed and weapon capabilities. Though frankly the differences are almost never that significant.”

 

“Huh…that’s interesting.” Chara had snapped out of her trance retreating behind Frisk with a nervous look. I felt an odd ripple and shivered as spacetime started to _warp_ as a civilization busting source of energy was injected into…I don’t know what.

 

“So…the Council sent good old Benzi and Nihlus… Saren must be busy with the earth mission…” I tilted my head at the unfamiliar nickname. But the final two name drops were a little more important, if she  meant _them._ Don’t even get me started on what the hell the last thing meant. Though I could guess that the Alliance wasn’t on the best terms with their Earth then.

 

“Hmm…perhaps if it would be alright, we can set up a small… _inconspicuous_ diplomatic meeting with whatever serves as a government on this planet.” I could tell based on her face, that she knew that was a losing proposition. The Monster Kingdom was the largest single government on the planet, along with the Karuk Federation or tribe or whatever they call themselves. Wait, can't forget about the canadians either. Asgore started perking up as did Toriel, finding some ease in the idea of peace with the aliens who could literally kill us all with their engine exhaust alone.

 

“Of course! We can have a nice cup of tea, perhaps in the afternoon over Mount Ebott. A lovely sunset to watch while we work together.” Toriel seemed to agree despite being a little gruff with him as per usual.

 

“That…sounds lovely.” Hannah seemed a little off put, but her eyes shone with relief. I guess she thought we would be more difficult to talk with than expected. Which was fair enough, negotiations aren’t exactly some it got easy between government much less one on the scale of star systems.

 

“So when should we start?” I don’t think Hannah knew what to make of Frisk, unable to parse what I call the signature “Frisk” face. Whenever she used it, it was almost impossible to tell what she was actually feeling. Kind of unsettling actually, maintaining a poker face through literally anything. The fact a military women couldn’t tell, was even more impressive.

 

“Just bring whatever human or Drak? Yes, Drak authority you can. Oh and Amira?” The named girl flinched and look ready to flee at any sound or movement. I’ve finally figured out where Amira gets her teasing tendency from. She jutted a single thumb at me and I frowned. “You get to be this kid’s body guard.”

 

_What?!_

 

“Mom why?!” Amira looked rather mad, and was close to snarling.

 

“Because this kid _reeks_ of Void energy as does that old skeleton. But I suspect that old timer can take care of himself. Keep those two tiny tikes safe too…I have a _bad_ feeling.” Amira looked more understanding and sighed, moving from her side to mine. I took a step to the left until I felt a light push, Amira was rather stiff as my face met with her arm.

 

She smells like spaghetti…

 

I leaned my face away from her…very well muscled arm with a weak blush. The giggling behind me told me Frisk had been the one to push me. I tapped her head with my closed fist and gave her a nice happy grin. The tapping became noogieing and Frisk shrieked as I did so. I gave her a poke on her sensitive stomach, making her cry out with a quiet shriek. She pushed me again, guarding her stomach from any more harsh pokes.

 

“Bleh!” I grinned, turning back to the odd…well I have no idea what her rank is, or if she even had a rank. She was definitely amused and was waiting for us to stop getting distracted.

 

“Anyways…negotiations right?” Her expression became serious and she was ready to get down to business.

 

“Indeed,” She nodded and her right arm shined orange before transforming to a translucent blue. “We should get going…” the Frigate activated its thrusters, accelerating to a leisurely pace in the general direction of Ebbot town.

 

“I’ll get the tea.” Amira’s whole face lit up at the mention of tea, and her footsteps became more bouncy. “We should surely greet our guests with respect.” Asgore let out a small goofy smile, and Toriel rolled her eyes in a less condescending style than usual.

 

I said nothing as my shoulder was pulled in closer by Hannah. I grumbled at the teasing smile on her face. She then leaned in to whisper in my ear, directing her gaze to her daughter as she leaned down to talk to Chara.

 

“She is _rather_ cute isn’t she?” Why does everyone new I’ve met want to tease me? Whoever did this to me they’ll all pay. Hannah was still smiling and I huffed loudly. “C’mon a nice _lovely_ young women charged with guarding an important man. It sounds rather like a romance novel doesn't it?”

 

If you can’t tell I’m sighing internally…

 

“Please stop.” At that point I was sick of her shit, what business was it of hers who I thought was cute or not?

 

Damn it I really _hate_ getting teased, which was probably why I got a strange sense of joy when I got to tease someone back. I don’t even care if it sounds a _little_ hypocritical. Even if the one she’s talking about is her daughter…

 

Never mind, that’s completely fair, I would probably do the same thing if it was a younger family member, or older too I suppose… Eventually Amira’s mother stopped her relentless teasing once she noticed I wasn’t reacting to her.

 

My aura bubbled up from my SOUL, didn’t think it was a very good idea to come in on a spaceship. Even if from here it would only look like an oddly shaped aircraft shuttle. Especially with how how much panicking was going on based off the constant screaming on the other line, when Asgore informed them of what was going on.

 

_BOOM!!_

 

I leaped 15 meters into the air, as did everyone else following behind me. The landscape faded around me as I rushed into another speed _burst,_ crossing a half kilometer in just over a second.

 

I really hope everything ends up okay…

 

***

 

“How much faster am I now?” I muttered under my breath as we waited for the meeting to start. It was a good time waster, some paperwork was getting settled on the whole “first contact” party going on.

 

Now back to studying aura… before arriving to this Earth I was at my fastest able to hit about 8 miles per hour or 3.6 meters per second. Now my new jog pace was about 60 miles per hour or 27 meters per second, and my top pace was 420 meters per second in _incredibly_ short bursts. Gaster theorized I could go even faster as I became more experienced, and he wasn’t wrong. I had managed to hit 430 meters per second, or _960_ miles per hour. Damage-wise I could take at least 10 megajoules before my aura shattered and I was reduced to red mist by whatever punched through my aura in a single attack. Which is apparently still less than Yang’s aura apparently

 

Of course it became interesting how tough the _supposedly_ weak monsters really were. We knew it wasn’t the Barrier making them any stronger, or else they would all have been weakened. Heck sans with his _one_ HP could take bullets to the face and not die. And that was before his own treatment to fix up the damage from the incident. He was now up to about 56 HP, making him a rather more fearsome opponent.

 

Now he won’t ever have the same amount of aura(HP) as he did before, with the limit being at about 200, which isn’t half bad. Since that’s enough to take some anti tank rockets.

 

I really don’t know why everyone is so supernaturally strong, but it makes me worry less at least. With the current(if temporary) gap between them and humans they have nothing to worry about. Except for the fact that if monsters are supposed to be weak, just how strong are humans or other organic(physical) life forms then?

 

“Yo,” I snapped out of my musing and felt myself get a little flustered as a lightly smiling Amira brushed up _way_ too close for comfort. I tapped my fingers together as she leaned against the metallic wall of the prefab room set up on top of Ebbot. Right on the spot where Monsterkind had walked out into the sunset.

 

“Hi.” She tilted her head, tickling my cheeks with her long hair. I mean really her hair is _long,_ reaching past her shoulders. I shrugged her hair off, and swept my long bangs aside. “What is it?”

 

I really need a haircut…

 

“So, how are you doing?” She looked _really_ awkward while asking me and I laid my head against the wall, shivering at the cold and uncomfortable metal.

 

“Just tired…and still a little bit confused.” She nodded and I was pleasantly surprised as she passed me a fresh cup of lemonade. I took a sip, and was again surprised… “You made this? It’s pretty good.”

 

She twirled her hair between her fingers as she replied. “Aww thanks…but it’s not that hard to make lemonade. Besides you make a _mean_ spaghetti.” I scratched my scraggly beard at the answer, and hated the brief pause filled with awkwardness.

 

I’ve…never really been good at the whole…small talk thing. Most of my “friends.” were interested in what I had to say, but only in brief snippets. I tended to annoy people with my overly long drivel.  It…hurt sometimes, that no matter how much I _wanted_ to talk with them, or hang out with them. I just couldn't push myself to take the leap and actually do it…

 

“Something wrong?” She began to look genuinely concerned and I mulled over how to appropriately answer her. “You…you can talk with me if you want. But no pressure or anything.” She waved her hands with a nervous energy.

 

“Are we friends?” Her face softened at my question, and she placed her hand on my shoulder. I tried to turn away but she had a pretty strong grip on me. Amira made eye contact with me and I felt a tiny bit of embarrassment.

 

“Yep,” Amira smiled lightly and started to grip the air, feeling a tad anxious at the closeness. “We are friends, you were nice enough to take me into your home, despite not knowing a thing about me. I think that should be at least enough to qualify us as acquaintances.”

 

I sighed and felt stupid at my _stupid_ worries… there wasn’t any need to get personal and ruin the atmosphere. Everything had been fine if a little tense, no need to make things weird and ruin her day.

 

“Geh!” I flushed as Amira strongly pressed her forehead against my own, nearly head butting me with all the force that implied. I had no idea what to do in this situation and she knew it. My arms fell down to my sides, and inching away wouldn’t work for very long.

 

She booped my nose lightly, and grinned. “Where’s this all coming from? I didn’t think you were this err…” Amira wasn’t sure how to phrase her statement.

 

But I did… “Uh… insecure?” She snapped her fingers at my reply, her face lighting up with recognition.

 

“Yeah,” she looked a bit more worried now. “Do…you not know how to have you know…friends?”

 

Her lips curled down into a frown as the silence lingered. I noticed we were still touching foreheads but… I didn’t mind. She was really pretty warm and I felt kind of tired after burning through…so much…aura. I leaned inexorably toward her, and she yelped when I dropped my head onto her shoulder. She gently pushed me, and I felt a yawn come on. But despite her discomfort she let me rest my head on her tall shoulders anyway. I've had a very poor sleep over the last three nights. A multitude of horrible nightmares varying from getting torn apart by Grimm, to getting captured and tortured by that _demon,_ or my… about 67 deaths?

 

So I’m not exactly at my best today as I start to crash, though it is doubtful I’ll be falling asleep anytime soon.

 

“Um…” I felt like this was now the best time to ask a burning question I’ve had for a while. Amira’s forehead creased, and her eyebrows lifted momentarily.

 

“Is it normal for you to be this tall?” She blinked at my question, and I wondered if that had been too much to ask?

 

“Oh! Well kind of but not exactly?” She brushed her hair back, while I removed myself from her shoulder as I started to wake up again. “People back home on average are a lot taller than the humans here. I think the average human height is about six foot _including_ women? So I am a little above average…”

 

With the greater amount of room she placed her left hand onto the bench, her right occupied with holding her drink. She took a sip…and her eyes shifted left and right for a moment.

 

“I hope this is okay to ask but… what is your home like?” Her eyes flashed with curiosity, almost boring into my own.

 

“Well…”

 

“Uh you don’t have to answer that if it’s too personal! I’m sorry!” Her arms curled around her chest protectively and I did my best to ignore how _bouncy_ she was.

 

“No, no it’s fine! If you’re worried maybe we can…exchange knowledge, like say 20 questions?” I’ve never played 20 Questions in any moment I’ve ever been alive.

 

“I don’t know what that is.” …so that game doesn't exist in this…hmm I think I have a question.

 

“Well…we just ask questions and answer them?” I was a little mortified at the look on her face and coughed, hoping she would move on.

 

“Well okay you go first, you already have a question in mind based on your constipated face.” I felt a growl rise up from my throat but held back.

 

“Right, What year is it back in your home?”

 

“4018…”

 

God’s… above and below… we are _so_ fucked! 2000 goddamn years of technological development, and the Council must be positively ancient. I mean, unless humanity is older or developed faster which is _probably_ the case.

 

“Uh its 2018 on my home, and 2318 on this Earth.”

 

I drew back as Amira slammed her left hand onto the bench, and almost winced as the metal groaned under the immense force. “So that’s why you said your home is far away! You’ve been displaced like we were, by a different event obviously but still!”

 

“Uh yes? I’m not sure why you’re excited about me being forcefully dragged away from everything I’ve ever known.” She blanched and began to babble apologies.

 

“Oh god I’m sorry! Please accept my—mmm?” I pressed my finger against her lip, with a smirk gracing my face.

 

“I was kidding.” I removed the finger and she crossed her arms against “We can just move on and ask something else.”

 

“Okay,” Her face scrunched up as she mulled it over. “Oh, I’ve never asked this but… do you have any family, back home?”

 

That’s a fine question to ask… “Yeah, I have my parents, two brothers. Both of my grandmothers. Three aunts and two uncles on my mom’s side. Two uncles on my dad’s side.” I numbered the quantity of relatives off with my fingers and she looked rather shocked. “A great deal of cousins though I only know three of them really well.”

 

Pretty sure there’s more…but I’m terrible with names, and average with remembering faces.

 

“I should tell you about my family too right?” I nodded, it would be only be fair for her to share what I had shared. I felt a small wave of incoming emotion, and a dark tumultuous _grey_ feeling rose up. It wasn’t my own, so why—

 

“I’m sorry but…I only really have my mom now. Everyone else including dad…isn’t around anymore…”

 

I just hit an emotional landmine, that I _know_ I can’t help with. “You don’t need to talk about it yet.” I mentally slapped myself for adding that last part to my sentence. But at this point it was too late to take it back.

 

“Hmm.” She leaned further back, firmly placing her head on the wall. I wasn’t sure how that would be very comforting at all.

 

A door creaked open…

 

“Oh my…perhaps I should come back later?” I was going to say that voice was familiar but after a while, that gets kind of repetitive. So what Mass Effect character do we have here? I didn’t bother to move, as I had found a good warm spot where Shepherd had been sitting.

 

Oh…

 

She was…um _wow._

 

I’ve never met an Asari before this but…just _damn._ I felt an odd sense of warmth which I don’t think was from me. I tilted my head to find Amira’s face was positively _flaming_ , her embarrassment through the roof. I tilted my head so I could ask her what was wrong.

 

“She was listening the entire time.” She whispered harshly into my air and I flinched back.

 

 _Oh_ , well that is incredibly mortifying…

 

A-Anyway about the asari. She was again a picture of aged beauty, clearly she aged gracefully even by the high standards of the Asari. She was about half a head taller than me, so about five eight or five nine? Besides that she wore a bright and shiny yellow dress that looked surprisingly good on her. Her wizened face was lifted up into a nostalgic smile, but for once she didn’t mention anything that would annoy me. She also wore a black headdress that mixed with the dress, reminded me of a giant bee or wasp.

 

She was…she was…

 

“Benezia!” Amira’s voice had risen to a rather high pitch at the sight of the older women. I had a sense that she was feeling rather embarrassed, as was I just a little. But that was very much overwhelmed by the shock and awe of meeting someone who was going(but maybe not) to be dead in ten years. Amazement soon filled me, as I realized she was speaking English _natively,_ using her own vocal cord analogue to do so.

 

I also hoped that those events in _every_ respect would _never_ come to pass for a number of very obvious reasons. One I wasn’t entirely sure I would live through such events, two it could _kill_ everyone I love, and I…well I don’t need any reason other than that.

 

“You should have given me some to introduce myself, little one.” Amira pouted and moved, pressing her hip again me. Benezia cleared her throat, and I lifted my gaze up to her nose. Eye contact was rather hard, meeting an authority figure who has influenced millions or even _billions_ of lives.

 

“Uh hi…?” I gave her stiff wave of her hand and she smiled not unkindly, biotically pulling a chair so she could take a seat. The near millenia old women relaxed in her comfy chair and folded her hand in her lap, in what looked like habit.

 

“Hello, young one it is nice to meet you.” She offered her hand for me to shake and with some hesitance I accepted her offer. I quickly retracted it as a strange tingly and staticy feeling passed through my nerves.

 

“Gah!” I grabbed my right arm with my left, cradling it in a protective position. Benezia looked puzzled, while Amira was giving me a teasing look I didn’t like.

 

“Ahh,” She waggled her eyebrows and I groaned as it happened. “It must be embarrassing to shake hands with a Matriarch you want to fu—.” With a deadpan stare, I covered her mouth with my whole hand shutting her up. Even her _strange_ feeling licking didn't stop my defense. Eventually she stopped with the grossness and I safely removed my hand from her mouth.

 

“The _reason_ I flinched away was because of the weird static shock when I touched her hand. Nothing more and nothing less capiche?!” I poked her right above her…chest with an unflinching stare.

 

“That would be because of my biotics… an ability unique to those exposed to Element Zero in the womb. It comes with an occasional and brief buildup of static charge that will confuse some beings. Nothing to worry about.” Then why did I feel a burst of _Integrity_ when I touched your hand Benezia? Because the sensation of _magic_ is one I remember well, hard to forget when you know and are friends with beings _made_ out of it. Any further elaboration would have to be saved for later as I heard the shuffling of various footsteps behind a Grey door.

 

The door opened spewing out a great deal of people, the King and Queen, Hannah, Frisk and Chara, as well as a single twitchy Turian spectre.  Well… Hello there Nihlus… Hope you don't die while you're here, that would be mighty inconvenient…

 

“A good time for tea is it not? And the information on this…chirality issue has been rather helpful in preventing any incidents…” King Fluffybuns looked a bit uncomfortable at the stares the foreign women but relaxed soon enough as small grubs formed on their faces. The Turian rolled his eye and let out a quiet chitter though I did hear the vague muttering of words.

 

“The… meeting should start right about now please. We _are_ on a bit of a deadline.” Nihlus nodded approvingly though there was skepticism directed at Chara and Frisk which was fair enough. Hannah cleared her throat and a small but accurate galaxy map popped up into existence through a mass effect field.

 

At the least _something_ was generating that _odd_ distortion in space time. A pinkish red bubble formed over multiple sectors of the Orion arm as well as one bubble near the other end of the galaxy. One of the bubbles was colored deeper than the others and seemed to comprise every star in the local bubble. Though the density seemed to hyper concentrate turning a deep scarlet around G and K type stars if I’m reading this map right.

 

Several smaller sectors were scattered sporadically across the galaxy often thousands of light years apart. Some had different shades of red indicating a difference of some sort. I then noticed a nearly microscopic blank space around where Sol would be and I was curious on why that was. Other disparate blue wispy tubes of “territory” showed up as well, forming a web of interconnected colonies, most likely representing the various Council species and the Relay network.

 

“This is our most up to date inhabited star maps of the ‘Milky Way’ galaxy comprising the Systems Alliance, the Citadel Council, as well as several other major powers.” I squinted my eyes to get a closer view, I could see something about Batar…Fed something and a Krogan…E…? Kind of hard to read it with how small the text is.

 

“That is…a lot of colonies…” I could Chara mumble to herself in awe and I could feel  amusement run through me as her hand drifted ever closer to the holographic map. Frisk gently pulled her hand away from the display and remained silent.

 

“Now you can see how serious the situation is.” Nihlus rumbled from Hannah’s left side. His eyes shone with an almost amused glint at the look on everyone’s faces. His expression became stony and the spectre started up again. “This is why our contact with you have has been as discreet as possible. Your civilization would likely not survive for long, your only defense being distance and anonymity. Mass Effect based drives can't reach you but…other engines certainly can.”

 

“Surely magic could stop them maybe?” Frisk winced at the dry look the Turian gave her and she subtly scooted back.

 

“On a ground level yes…though I've seen little indication on what a wider scale use of ‘magic’ could do other than…the anomaly.”

 

“Anomaly?” The King quirked a bushy brow and Nihlus sealed his lips(mandibles) shut. The sole human among then rolled her eyes and knocked her knuckles against his forehead. He grumbled and breathed out an exasperated sigh before turning his fierce gaze toward us.

 

“Fine…there has been a distortion in the fabric of spacetime that our scientists have been warning us about for quite some time. We traced its origins to these coordinates once one…final _reverberation_ seemed to shake the entire Local Group. Despite this we have no idea what this _event_ is, we have only the mad ravings of researchers. Something about RESET I believe?”

 

A cold chill entered the room…

 

Chara’s expression twisted into a mix of shame and unsatisfied rage while Frisk’s only showed an unnatural blankness. King Asgore let out an almost imperceptible flinch, Toriel was utterly silent. I didn’t… _couldn’t_ respond even as I sensed the wary suspicion from Hannah, the hostility…if willing to give us the benefit of the doubt from Nihlus. Amira only looked anxious and also dangerously curious, surprisingly the asari women was calm.

 

  

“You know something don't you? About these anomalies” We all hesitantly nodded to the turian males question. “Well nothing to do about that now…” The spectre threw us for a loop, and I nearly tripped over my own feet in response. It was the intervention from Amira that kept me from tripping. I felt an uncomfortable bubbly feeling in my chest as she held me steady, gripping my shoulders.

 

Stop that…don’t…

 

I looked up to see her amused smile…

 

_Ba-bump._

 

_Ba-bump_

 

O-Okay let's ignore that (beautiful…) women smiling at us and get back to our previous business. There's a lot we need to work out, before everything can get back to a relative normal.

 

Frisk had the happiest expression I had a ever seen in my entire life, her entire body vibrating with excitement. I never get to catch a break huh?

 

“Anyways…besides the specifics of this _unusual_ occurrence, the Alliance _does_ have protocols on re establishing contact with lost colonies.” At our inquisitive looks she slumped, grasping her face as if to quell a headache. “Please don't ask… Just let's say early human stellar colonization was rather…sketchy back then.” Hannah sounded like she had experience with this, so none of us asked her to elaborate.

 

“The protocols state that a willing primitive colony will be given a century of relative isolation as to prevent a complete and utter collapse of their society or economy. A small space station will be built that will serve as an intermediary and a source of advancement until the the colony meets parity with the others. Which could take anywhere from thirty years to the full hundred depending on a number of factors.” This time it was Amira who replied with an upturn of her nose while we closely listened.

 

“Correct… However the specifics should be worked out in…private.” The matriarch tilted her head with a slight sense of apology. Frisk looked disappointed but followed the lead of her parents as Toriel whispered a request into her ear. She nodded and stood up, brushing off some dust from her clothes. Amira gave me a small push and I plodded my heavy feet to the exit.

 

However a cough from Nihlus stopped me in my tracks just as I pressed my right hand against the door.

 

“Human…a question I may?” I nodded my assent and his mandibles curled into a smile. “This…magic you call it? How common will it become? I've had my suspicions after some incidents over the past week.” His eyes pierced through my soul and I felt off…

 

“It's a universal trait…if you have a SOUL you have magic.” He gave me respectful nod and I made my way out.

 

People who actually knew what they were doing were talking…

 

***

 

You know I just realized that with Shepherd I made(?) a friend who is actually my age, though the younger boss monsters count too.

 

Anyway we had made our way outside and we were staring down the frankly breathtaking sunset, relaxing on some foldable beach chairs. Frisk sat lazily on a frilly blue one, a yawn escaping her lips. Frisk had always been…not lethargic, but she did like to sleep. The kids eyelids were lidded as her head slowly sunk into the left side arm of her chair. Chara only gazed down to the vast forest below, her eyes narrowing at _something_ out in the vicinity of the forest.

 

Amira was… _playing_ with a floating piece of cliff rock with a neutral expression, but her nose did twitch in the cutest wa…

 

“It looks _amazing_ doesn't it? No one's been on the earth's surface in nearly a hundred years not since the Great wa—….” I ignored the cutoff of her statement my grin widening as the sun gradually slipped below the horizon. “A-Anyway, do you think everything will be…alright?” Her confidence appeared to drop and I shrugged. I didn't have the answers she was seeking, I might have _known_ the future but not anymore.

 

I was…maybe a little afraid of what came next but I had to deal with it as it came. I had to deal with going through the Underground with monsters trying to _kill_ me. Then befriending them and finally culminating in fighting a God of Hyperdeath.

 

…

 

…

 

My life has taken a really weird turn hasn't it?

 

“Yo? You there broseph?” I gave Amira the most disgusted face I could manage at that mangling of the human language, and her grin became a little more wobbly.

 

“Yeah I'm here…but _please_ never say that again. It feels _wrong_ coming from you.” She shrugged but quietly agreed to my request anyway, her view now stuck on the approaching night sky. Mine had shifted to the area Chara was looking in, and I narrowed my eyes as two blazing citrine eyes stared back at me.

 

I didn't know what _her_ story was, why she seemed to hate humanity as much as she did. But and maybe this was just Frisk rubbing off on me… I wanted to help her. I gave the fussy dragon a wave, and with a roll of her eyes she vanished into the cover of darkness.

 

“Right,” I turned to Amira, raising an eyebrow. “How…are you doing that?” Pointing to the rock, I nodded with exasperation.

 

“It's Earthbending…something unique to where I come from. We can manipulate the earth in all its forms to do our bidding.” I nodded, and frowned wondering where I had seen such a thing before. ATLA and Mass Effect…

 

“You're a rather nosy fella huh.”

 

OH GOD WHAT THE FUCK!!

 

“Brandon NOO!”

 

_Thump._

 

I jumped two feet straight up into the air and fell flat on my face as a deep guttural voice spoke up from behind me.  I picked myself up, but took the strange skinned five fingers hand regardless.

 

I met face to face with the slightly irritated face of a batarian. His(?) four alien eyes blinked with his top set of eyebrows apparently raised. The yellow skinned alien was well over a head taller than I was, but that didn't say much for his height. He _was_ still shorter than Amira after all…

 

He wore a set of heavy armor and I felt another odd pulse of _energy_ , a buzzing in my ear. There was a twinkle of red energy that fit the outline of the armor, likely a barrier system of some sort.

 

“Uh hello?”

 

“Your the strange boy Amira has spoken of?” I nodded with some trepidation but felt relief as he didn't say anything out of bounds. He pressed his right arm against his chest. “You may call me Balak human, please take a seat.” I sat back down under his orders, but he remained standing, his eyes almost stabbing daggers into mine.

 

I think that was just my imagination though…

 

“You Shepherd’s really do always get into trouble huh?” A strong rumble of laughter erupted from his throat, and Amira couldn't meet his eyes mumbling expletives under her breath.

 

“I have some questions for you human if I may?” I nodded and he gave a toothy grin. “Is it true that you have access to Noble Phantasms?”

 

W-What the Fuck!? Is…he being serious a noble—this isn't the Nasuverse right? This is Undertale, plus…wait who the hell know, this universe could be a mix of a dozen different universes and I wouldn't even know.

 

“Sorry, let me rephrase the question. I mean a ‘semblance’ that is the right word yes.” Amira nodded and my confusion abated. So that is what Batarians called semblances?

 

“It’s what the _hegemony_ calls a semblance.” Balak read my mind and there was a huff of disgust and contempt for the Hegemony. “A _great_ power gifted to the high castes by the Emperor.”

 

“Emperor?”

 

A small snort followed. “The emperor of the dying Hegemony, the broken husk of the Imperial regime, cast off by the Federation.” He seemed almost amused but there was an odd fear in his eyes as he stared at Frisk and Chara.

 

His expression became grim and my heart was gripped eight a _bad_ feeling. “Determination…such an interesting and _terrible_ power.”

 

I felt shivers run down my spine… both Frisk and Chara’s eyes had widened and in that moment _everything_ slowed down.

 

Birds hover in mid air the flaps of their wings coming to a complete stop. The breeze vanished, leaving only still and stale air. Amira shivered but did not slow down like the rest of the environment. Balak didn't bat a single one of his eyes like he had seen it all before.

 

Soon everything, no _time_ itself had come to a complete and total pause. Chara snarled and slammed against the chest of the batarian.

 

“What the hell do you know old man!?” She was _angry._ “What did you mean by that?!” Frisk looked guilty and curled into herself, while Amira had a confused expression on her face. She experimentally poked a beetle and flinched as it came to life flitting about like it had never been frozen in the first place.

 

Balak looked smug, but there was a hint of fear along with it. Not against the kids but…

 

“So it _was_ the two of you who brought magic back to the cosmos then.” Chara flinched and released the alien with trembling hands.

 

“You’re a smart one aren't you _batarian?_ ” I went still as Gaster emerged from behind, his eyes blazing with a _familiar_ energy. Surprisingly he reached for the interlopers hand, and _he_ obliged with a wide smirk.

 

“I could say the same for you…but I won't.” Gaster rolled his eyes and released his grip, slowly retracting his arm.

 

“You really shouldn't keep the secret of your abilities from those who love you. My _determined_ children.” I flushed as the skeleton man chastised the kids. “You think you could keep it from us? Even _Papyrus_ knows, he just doesn't want to hurt your feelings.” Both look embarrassed, and I realized this must be an ability inherent to Determination souls without the added boost of the concentrated Magical energy of the Barrier.

 

“So you still have limited time manipulation…which…reminds me of Hit actually.” I wonder what the range was? Just a couple of miles? The entire planet? Was time stopped or did _we_ speed up Flash style.

 

“Um…yeah sorry for not telling you…” I could hear the sheer sincerity within Frisk voice and I patted her head. “I was… _we_ were afraid of what you would think.” Chara didn't meet my eyes…

 

“Hahah!” I glared at the chuckling older alone man asking for an explanation. “My apologies but I feel… _relief_ that the most determined SOULS of your species have a conscience or else I would have to… _Judge_ them.” I stepped in front of them without hesitation.

 

Hey…I'll throw down with an alien far stronger than me! I don't _give_ a Fuck! The batarian was amused and placed his hands in a placating gesture. I relaxed and let my fists fall to my sides. That was as about the time when what said hit me…

 

“Are you saying your ‘Emperor” I explicitly used air quotes for this. “Has an active Determination SOUL?” He nodded and I knew we were going to get dragged into a real shitstorm…and not just a political one either.

 

“Is…that why that _bastard_ doesn't stay dead!!” Amira uncharacteristically(maybe…) exploded, the hatred and loathing in her eyes kind of concerning actually.

 

Her mom is missing a leg…she's Shepherd, the emperor is a Batarian…

 

Mindoir…well that…is going to be an issue. A number of psychological problems i can't even _begin_ to deal with.

 

“You…I don't blame you…for releasing all the magic in this world to prevent a much _worse_ fate. Everyone could tell…you stopped the END, for now.” He looked grateful by batarian standards anyway. “But, this will _not_ end well…because _they_ have awoken.”

 

They?

 

“They don't know _where_ you are…but when they do. They will tear this planet apart for the power of _determination._ The Emperor, the Lystheni and their Technomancers, the Separatist and their Valluvian Priests. The Blood Pack and their king. Even without them…Magic has been lost to us for thousands of years, only a select few ever harnessing it to _terrible_ effect.”

 

Gaster’s fists curled inward with anger. “What _else_ would you have us do?! I would not let my people remain trapped for eternity!”

 

“Instead they will die in war fought since before the birth of your planet.”

 

Fuck that! I stood up and pushed the cynical four eyed alien back. He looked a little surprised, with some intrigue mixed in for good measure. I wasn't going to let that happen! I punched a _fucking_ God in the face! I will fight a _million_ reaperized Krogan if I have to. For everything that I care about…I won't let the efforts of everyone be in vain.

 

“Then what can we do to _stop_ the END?” The batarian grinned…

 

“There's going to be a war no matter what we do…but if we have the knowledge then we can counteract this Magic of yours. You're understanding may be enough…to end this war as quickly and as bloodless as possible.” I nodded in agreement, but we have to find more…

 

Gaster's knowledge is incomplete but the humans of this world wielded magic to its fullest extent and that was only 1200 years ago. I…had an idea that might just work…  “We need to find out more about magic…we don't have enough information to go on. Maybe…ancient human ruins might have a clue that can help us. We _have_ to search them out.

 

Most of them were silent at my outburst and I counted to ten to relax myself…

 

“That’s…a semi serious plan…” I stammered as Amira bumped her hip against me, lightly pushing me out of the way. “I have some questions of my own I want to seek out…and I can't go to _my_ Earth to find them. This place is the next closest thing.” I don't disagree with her, and I wouldn't mind if she tagged along.

 

“So we have our goal…we can create the more basic steps later but there are more _pressing_ matters…how long do we have before they come?”

 

There was a grumble from Balak as he thought. He opened up his five fingers hands and added another from his left hand.

 

“Six months…for anything on a large scale. We can't rule out cases like Amira’s, ships thrown across the void between galaxies in seconds. Fortunately we are already sending out thousands of probes that will likely pick out anything larger than a corvette.”

 

“So we’re safe?” Frisk looked really small at this moment, the fire in her eyes nothing more than a weak candlelight.

 

“It's not your your fault. It was either this or the end of _everything._ We still have time.” She blinked, but nodded anyway and I could sense her determination growing again. Balak’s eyes softened and he leaned down to face Frisk. I don't move, letting him get close. His hand seemed to reach for her, before it drooped down to his side.

 

“I can promise you this much human. I will not let your world come to an end. We _will_ be ready.” That we would die if we weren't was kindly left unsaid.

 

“We’ll begin some expeditions as soon as possible. I know a few people more than curious to know of their ancestors or their creator’s ancestors ancient ways.” Gaster had an excited tinge to his tone at the idea.

 

“I want to come with…” Before I could protest my retort was sealed by a wave of magic from Chara, covering my mouth with a ball levitated by magic. I spit it out and nearly reached for the little bugger in anger.

 

“We…need to know more…on what you can do. We have to get _his_ world ready as well. Based on my calculations their world will receive magic within two months.”

 

My… Oh god…that won’t end well at all. Magic is _dangerous_ and in the wrong hands could kill hundreds or even thousands of people. Magic users are hundreds to thousands of times stronger than base humans. If we take people from RWBY as a _low_ estimate, attacking with the equivalent energy of an autocannon and needing Anti-tank weaponry to break through their aura…

 

God, what would people like the Cartels do with it… what would terrorist groups or unstable or dangerous dictatorships do. Just one…person could take down the entirety of the three major branches if they’re all in one room…

 

They… need to know before it’s too late. I gazed up at the stars toward both galaxies, more determined than in any point in my _entire_ life.

 

I…would help protect this world…because that wave of _energy_ surging through me heralded something… _new._

 

***

Across the void of space, greater powers were moving. Armies were being assembled, weapons manufactured and maintained. Ships prepped for launch… A fever surged through the annals of galactic society as the relative peace they knew was coming to a climatic end.

 

One of the more dangerous players marched from his _dusty_ palace. Dozens of batarians and an endless cabal of slaves bowed down to the smirking Batarian.

 

The batarian king was massive for his kind, well over two meters tall and massing over 170 kilograms on top of that. He was a pale white only accentuated by his cloak. His eyes glowing an unsettling white, and his skin leaked a substance much like blood. The floor of his resplendent palace was burned on contact with the liquid.

 

The batar king went still…

 

_SHOOM!!_

 

_—The Battle is to the Strong—_

 

In an instant, a weapon of blackened metal had been shattered by another of the same type and color. From the shadows…a form melded in, revealing a Turian corpse kept alive by cursed metal and and raw _determination._ The Berserker said nothing as the Valluvian Priest of Ascension smirked.

 

“You are rather fast aren't you? You have done well with your thralls Leviathan. Better than your emotional counterparts on Earth. You grabbed my first weapon and used it it parry away the second.”

 

“Why are you here _turian._ ” There was an uncaring, unemotional, _unliving_ tone in the god emperor’s voice. The crowd parted like the red sea as the heavy footsteps of what once was a good man approached the merciless leader.

 

“We both share the same goal now do we not? It has taken _them_ time but we know what we must do.” Desolas corpse spoke for its master, and the puppet of its creator smiled.

 

“So only after you lost the power of GOD have you returned to us…” The king unleashed a cruel smile that promised much blood. Desolas said nothing, and only waited for the god emperor’s reply.

 

“Very well…there are others who have allied with us…some more puppets of yours I presume?”

 

The two puppets walked, ducking into a staircase that took them deep below the earth. They walked for seemingly hours, reaching the thin barrier between the mantle and the crust of the broken world of Khar'Shan, damaged by the use of a one way Mass Relay.

 

Several figures around a large round table looked up and a closer look revealed the kilometers wide bubble of water surrounding the clear glass of the meeting room. The largest being in the room stood on their heavy feet, the Krogan easily 4 meters tall appeared eager to begin. Though there was a harsh glance toward the unblinking face of a Lystheni Technomancer. He turned back once he noticed the frog like being’s lack of reaction.

 

A sole heretic Geth remained idle, only attending as an unnecessary courtesy. Next to it, sat the next largest being, a massive red and black Yahg and the greatest source of information in the galaxy. A rare treat for those still capable of feeling anything at all. Desolas took his seat despite the screaming and sobbing of his broken SOUL long since subsumed into the greater mindscape of the ancient Sovereign of Nazara. The only thought he had left was when the Queen of Grimm would arrive…but then he remembered that was yet to come…

 

“We have all sensed it…” The Krogan’s voice was deep and harsh. But he sounded _ecstatic,_ like he had found a better and tougher model of Graal Spike throwers. “The power we thought lost has started to return to us…we can…bring upon the END. One final cycle, where we can go out in a glorious ball of molten rock and DEATH!” It was obvious to the fragment of Desolas that the krogan was insane, whether driven by the beginnings of Indoctrination or his own mind. It was also clear he would fight for his goal to the last man, women, and child.  

 

“The Ascended Lystheni Technocracy concurs with the Berserker Unit…our technology has begun to return to the fullest extent of its power. Experimentation is…required.” The Lystheni spoke much like the dark emperor, clearly sharing the same Host if on a different path.

 

“Indeed, my agents are scouring the galaxy for information. But, I still ask why we have met on this particular place and time.” The Yahg was hesitant to be here, but merely to do with a lack of information rather than any sense of morality or loyalty to his fellow Yahg.

 

“Several reasons in fact.” The Batarian emperor replied with a sadistic smirk, exposing his sharp teeth. “The war is soon approaching and our… _alliance_ must be finalized.”

 

“the Harmonious Herald of Remnant is seeking a manner of entering into this world.” The heretic geth informed the round table in placed of Desolas and the others looked intrigued. “The Perfect Being…the perfect Ascended, but her power has been blocked due to the intervention of one of the Great Spirits…”

 

The Krogan snorted despite being a thrall, his will breaking through for a mere moment. “I'm not sure what you expected…their reprogramming was the only reason he obeyed your kind.” Desolas flinched as a surge of rage that was not his own, shook his weakened body.

 

“Beings known as GRIMM serve as excellent shock troops…will serve in exterminating the Salarian Union. There was a tone of anger, a remnant of the Lystheni hatred of their organic brethren.

 

**ENOUGH.**

 

“Why?” The Yahg was angry…

 

**BECAUSE IT BEGINS NOW… THE END OF THIS CYCLE. THE END OF EXISTENCE IS AT HAND.**

 

Desolas shuddered as reality _bent_ , and from above massive pitch black arms clung to the small bubble, the disparity in size obvious.

 

A GOD had been summoned…

 

**YOU HAVE KNOCKED AT THE DOOR...NOW IT IS OPEN.**

 

His conscious faded as a wave of power surged and the universe was changed forever. He could feel…reality shiver back and the energy spread from one world to the next. First one, then a dozen, then a hundred, then ten thousand, then a _billion_. From one galaxy to ten, to a hundred, then to a hundred billion. The entire world felt it as magic reawakened in full, the only barrier between it and life is the practice. The effect was sensed across the local multiverse…

 

Worlds…so similar but different… they do not matter. Worlds of swapped personality, of shifted ones. Of men of steel and dark knights, worlds of heroic academies. World's of Spiral Energy… Infinite possibilities presented themselves… they still don’t matter…

 

Yet…

 

Reality shifted, down to the perspective of other beings…

 

***

 

“What is this?” A strange being stumbled and fell onto their knees. Sharp looking sunglasses fell off revealing their tricolor eyes. One red, one blue, and a third eye purple. They felt their inner mind almost collapse under the strain of possible futures. Futures where the Earth and its people were broken under the rule of a tyrant king, or where a new era of understanding and peace lasted until long after her physical form dissipated and her true body of crystal was reduced to dust by time.

 

“No…I need to get S-” She collapsed into unconsciousness before she could say another word. From behind a frightened young women of Indian origin rushed after her, lifting the feminine being with a worried expression. When she touched her however, she let out a hiss of pain and slapped her own left eye. An eye once a dark brown, seemed to flake away. Becoming a strange Silver…

 

Despite her pain the girl picked up the women and dragged her across a small beach town, stopping at a temple that depicted a massive multi armed goddess.

 

“Need to get help…” She knocked frantically at the door not knowing that a strange being was watching her with a familiar shock. He watched as a tall and wide oddly tinted women with rainbow hair picked up the other equally tall women like being. Another one, a pale white women shorter than the human girl fussed over her as well.

 

“Why is she here…and with _those_ people…?” A certain Turian spectre grimaced but kept his distance anyway having more important issues to deal with. He lifted up a strange rifle as a pack of monstrous wolves surrounded him, and in that brief moment of stillness he struck.

 

_BRRRT!_

 

***

 

“T-That isn't good…” A small quarian girl shivered as she worked on her Chika. Another girl a human this time agreed with a growl, the small heavily scarred women shivering.

 

“My biotics are flickering like crazy. A shitstorm is going down…”

 

“Language please Jack…” The girl scoffed but another shiver stopped a tongue lashing insult.

 

“F-Fine…”

 

***

 

On board a dreadnought a human women of seeming middle age frowned, crossing her legs as she leaned against her command chair. The tall dark haired women narrowed her Grey eyes and shouted orders to her crew, ready to move.

 

The over half dozen kilometer long vessel turned slowly it's engines burning with a red light. Within a moment space distorted around it; and it warped away to an unknown location.

 

Now the prince of Thorns would witness the consequences of the new Timeline…

 

***

 

“Man…Chara is gonna be pissed off at the fact that I've haven't come back.” A deep voice pitied himself as he wandered through a vast plain of tall grass. The familiar figure had cloaked himself in white, his faces and shining eyes hidden under darkness.

 

Asriel had been through a busy two weeks and a half, looking for _something,_ any trace of that monstrous beast. All he had found was the ruins of burning villages and it's weaker minions. He had deemed to cut them down anyway, his returning conscience not letting him do otherwise.

 

He guessed that it was nearing the fall now, and a brief check of his _acquired_ watch told him it was the 12th day of September. _So nearly three weeks spent destroying tens of thousands of Grimm._

 

Asriel smiled, exposing his sharp fangs, admiring the unmarried beauty of the night sky. The great band of the Milky Way clear to see for everyone willing to look. His body glowed with a rainbow light, his body brimming with the power of seven human SOUL—

 

 _‘HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY LISTEN BUB! DON'T IGNORE ME!’_ Asriel growled as a positively _annoying_ presence made their voice. He would have almost regretted making this deal if it wasn't for the moderating influence of the fallen children and the two fallen female “Huntsman”.

 

“Shut up you damn villain stereotype! Let me enjoy the stars in peace!” Asriel felt ashamed as he released his outburst aloud. Fortunately for the wayward goat child there was no audience to react to his yell.

 

 _‘I'm sorry!'_ The prince rolled his eyes as the spartan girl innocently apologized for her fellow lost soul. It had been a rather dismal and confusing experience, the three recently deceased humans were far more active than the other SOULS. The four other acting more like manifestations of his mind instead of full on separate beings. He suspected they did so not to overwhelm him as well as the decades or even centuries of long stasis has taken their toll.

 

 _‘You are following the light now yes? I can sense my fa—a familiar energy from that direction.’_ The eight foot tall, 11 years old goat and two year(not including the several times that amount of time in Resets) flower nodded.  His claws clicked with sparks as he sensed a malevolent energy.

 

_Whoosh!_

 

Asriel back slapped a Beowolf with a mighty sigh snapping the young Grimm’s spine with ease. With a fierce growl he summoned dual chaos sabers parrying the scythes of a new Grimm type. They appeared to resemble anthropomorphized praying mantis, their faces covered by the signature masks of beasts of darkness.

 

Their swords like claws strained and then shattered under the force of his blow. The two Grimm were cleaved in half, and in an instant Asriel flipped back. At the same time he kicked a younger Goliath in its trunk, gripping it and in his final motion tearing it off.

 

“ **GRAHH!** ” The elephant like monster cried, it’s boom resounding as black ichor leaked in droves from its wound.

 

 _‘To your left Flower boy!_ ” A warning from the former criminal served the prince of thorns well and with a flick of his wrists a vine pierced into stomach of a Griffon. The flying shadow beasts let out a wracking cough as its death rattle encroached upon it. The bird like beasts body twitches and spasms until the final moment, when it's body finally faded into Dust choked gas.

 

 _‘GOO!_ ” Pyrrha's prompt was all he needed before launching an all out barrage of energy, knocking away an incoming flock of lesser nevermore like mere flies rather than the monsters they really were. Dozens of land based Grimm were torn away from the safe ground and their bodies torn to pieces.

 

There was only the sound of bloating Grimm corpses and his own breathing as he stated across the landscape ruined by battle and death. There was no more da gee for him, the monsters tormenting this poor land were gone. Everything and everyone would be f—

 

_RING! RING!_

 

“GaEYYY!!” Asriel released a girly scream of horror and shock and threw a razor sharp knife piercing it through the already dissolving skull of an Ursa minor.

 

 _‘Pfft!_ ” Asriel grumbled as the younger female SOUL giggled. He  lifted up his phone only it hear the panicked muttering of Gaster.

 

“Timelines…determined SOULS…aliens…reaper…Salem…Maidens.” He raised an eyebrow as the Spartans girl paled and turned away from him. He guessed that the girl knew something but didn't want to talk.

 

_‘Well it's not my problem…she can talk about it on her own time.’_

 

“Gaster what are you doing?” The incoherent muttering stopped and there was sheepish cough from the former Royal Scientist.

 

“You were right Asriel…it is worse than I imagined.”

 

“Hey talk to me!” He could hear the _loud_ nod of his older friend and waited.

 

…

 

…

 

“So let me get this straight. Aliens with magic, more of those evil monsters _things._ Space me ha cuttlefish are coming to kill us all.”

 

“Pretty much…” The skeleton was ticked off by Asriel’s tone. “Now can you come back please?”

 

“I…still need to find th—.” Asriel stopped his reply as the light he was following vanished and then reappeared elsewhere. Back to _where_ had had started. The prince’s eyes widens to their maximum point.

 

“SON OF A—.” He cut himself off and counted to ten. “Right that damn portal is gone and now back where I st… _shit_ Gaster warn _everyone_ now! A Grimm incursion might be coming your way.”

 

“By the _Angel_. Make your way back as fast as possible! Before anyone is killed!”

 

“Got it, get everyone fitted out with that ‘Dust’ stuff. It packs a big punch.” the scientist hung up and the fluffy goat monster was alone again. He braced himself a isn't the ground ready to move until he heard a strange shout…

 

“Owie…what the heck! Hey… _Jaune_ get off of me!” There was a cry from the determined soul within him. He put up his cloak to hide his face, not wanting to worry whoever was there. From the grass four disoriented figures popped out.

 

One was a small girl maybe a few inches taller than Frisk or Chara wearing a strange outfit. Wearing a fancy white high neck blouse with brain studded wristbands. She also had a black shirt with a red tulle, as well as a corset. Next to her was a young messy haired blonde man in armor and a hoodie? In a different but still close pile was a girly looking Asian male and a busty orange haired human female. He went to help them but froze as the girl made eye contact revealing the hauntingly familiar silver eyes.

 

Her felt terror gripping him until Summer showed him a memory, calming him down. He was no less cautious however, not wanting to chance it. The girl strongly resemble her apparent mother and he deemed not to mention it. The moment he took a step however…

 

The girl _blurred,_ though his eye easily kept pace. But when the silver eyes lifted up a gun of some sort, he didn't expect it to transform into a massive Scythe almost as tall as his entire body. The blonde boy lifted up a sword and Asriel was disappointed when it didn’t transform.

 

_‘What the hell that girl has a sniper scythe. That other girl has a grenade hammer?! That boy/girl has some weird gun…thing!’_

 

_‘What about the blonde kid.’_

 

“What _about_ him?” He whispered quietly to the voices in his head.

 

 _‘He is doing his best!_ ’ Asriel rolled his eyes, letting out a yawn.

 

“Howdy…you must be new around here…” They turned to each tour in silent communication. He waved his furry hands keeping them as hidden as possible. “Names Asriel Dreemurr.”

 

The four gradually relaxed and put down their weapons. They still gave him a suspicious look however.

 

“I'm…Ruby Rose/ _Ruby Rose.”_ He flinched at the soft tone in Summer’s voice.

 

“Jaune Arc/ _Jaune Arc_ ” He flinched a second time as Pyrrha went next.

 

“I'm Nora Valkyrie and this is Lie Ren!” The energetic girl seems nice enough for him.

 

“Hey, uh Asriel?” He hummed in acknowledgment. “Do you know where we are?” Asriel sighed and pointed upward to the night sky. They glanced up and all four eve the quiet one gaped. All color left their faces and they became alms of fearul of him. He couldn't be sure if he was only seeing things.

 

“The moon…isn't broken…” There was a sense of wonder in Ruby’s voice that reminds him of Frisk and his younger self.

 

He remembered what he was supposed to do…before he could however the other day _popped_ in front of him, hiding her body in the roses _conjured_ by her SOUL. His hood was lifted back by the wind and he scrambled to place it back. But by then it was too late…

 

Instead of the fear he expected…her eyes grew wide, as if looking at a cute puppy.

 

“You…have big ears…” He slumped, his face expressing is displeasure with the girl.

 

“Ugh human please be quiet…your pathetic use of magic aside I _really_ need to get going before a Grimm invasion destroys my home.” All four went completely and he wondered what he said…

 

“Let us help…please.” The girl looked so sure, and he reached out go her with his paw. She gasped and he stepped back in alarm, as a red glow leaped from her chest. He blinked dumbly as the others panicked firing several shots off…Ruby told them to stop but she herself stepped back for two reasons.

 

“Well that _stings…”_ Asriel brushed off the flakes of Fire Dust from his face after taking a direct hit from a 40mm Fire Dust grenade. The bullets had stung but were either squashed by his thick skin or bounced off his horns. The power of four humans couldn't compare to that of a determined boss monster with seven humans souls within his possession. “No reason to hurt me…I have no idea why that  happened. I must have summoned up her SOUL by mistake.” He cracked his jaw ignoring their looks.

 

“What do you mean my…soul.” Within her hand she held a red heart pulsating with energy. The other young adults seemed fascinated if reasonably cautious.

 

“That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being. You have a SOUL of determination, among the strongest and most…dangerous.” Ruby tilted her head, curious and intrigued by his statement. She trembled, tiny sparks of red emanating from her body.

 

Her HP was beginning to _slowly_ rise as the magic entered into the core of her being…

 

“Uh…are you saying magic is real?” Asriel gave her a deadpan look.

 

“I'm _made_ out of it, just like the rest of Monster kind and  _unlike_ the rest of you squishy…fleshy humans.”

 

“Well _prove_ it?” He was startled as Nora stomped over to him with a smirk “Or are you yanking our chain furball!” Asriel growled and snapped his fingers. First bubble of floating flames circled around them, the plants died and regret within moments. Two chaos sabers were conjured up to settle at his hips…and he turned his head to watch a strange crow watching his every move. There was no malevolent intent from the shapeshifted human so he let it go.

 

“That's _amazing…_ will I be able to do that?” He gave her a so-so expression and returned back to the more pertinent topic.

 

“Home…Grimm attack remember?” She became more serious and nodded, lifting up her Scythe.

 

“You'll let us help then.” Not asking for help from the group with deadly super weapons at their disposal would be a _grave_ mistake.

 

“Yes of course fr—”

 

A whistle of wind was all the warning he had…

 

A scorpion tail was stopped short from piercing his skull by a gigantic Buster sword that Undyne would have loved. An aura Shockwave pushed the tall monster a few inches and he shrugged. The bird had become a man and in that moment of vulnerability protected Asriel from a potentially lethal blow.

 

If he was a normal monster anyway…

 

The caped drunkard if the smell of alcohol wasn't obvious gave him a nod and stood in a protective stance. Asriel narrowed his eyes as a strange man approached, his tail twitching in murderous anticipation. His instincts _screamed_ danger with every step the scorpion human took. The man had claw blades on his arms, and looked read to kill based on the twisted expression on his face.

 

“Who are you? What do you want?” Jaune asked from the back raising his sword in a combative stance.

 

“Normally I wouldn't tell you but since it's been a _really_ good day for me. Tyrian Callows at your service. Oh without that portal I wouldn't have found your until October! And what I want is that girl and that strange furry fellow. To bring them to my queen…”

 

“Cinder.” Ruby replied in a stern tone, but became puzzled as the faunus laughed.

 

“Only in her wildest dreams.” Asriel lowered into his own stance until he felt a rumble of dark energy. He ducked dodging a deadly hyper beam of white hot plasma from a strange and fat dragon esque Grimm. The bipedal dragon Grimm roared, and Qrow went on the defensive as “Tyrian” took the opportunity to attack.

 

All the Grimm were focused _only_ on him leaving him unable to help. That left them safe, but reduced the number of combatants to fight against the dangerous faunus.

 

“Hahaha hahaha!! This is going to make things harder. But everything hard in life is always worth _doing!_ ” The madman cackled, and took a single bullet from an angry Ruby. Qrow growled and blocked a hit from the follower of the witch. Another .50 caliber bullet made its mark despite the scorpions attempt to dodge. Asriel smirked as he felt a whiff of _red_ and  _yellow_ from the overpowered lead slug.

 

“Oh this is going to be…so _interesting!_ ” Both Huntsmen came to blows…

 

They had all reached the Tipping Point…


End file.
